


Going the Distance: Extra Rounds

by Kupow



Series: Persona 5: Going the Distance AU [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boxing, Bad Puns, Boxing & Fisticuffs, Dubious use of pro-wrestling moves, Epilogue, Family Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Slapstick, Slice of Life, Sports, Tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:00:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 274,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22442197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kupow/pseuds/Kupow
Summary: There are no such things as extra rounds in boxing. If a match ‘goes the distance’, the decision is up to the judges. That said, when... ...No. Sorry. I can't even. In no world is there such a thing as overtime or extra rounds in boxing. No mysterious boxing related foreshadowing to start these chapters anymore. Deal with it.Going the Distance: Extra Rounds. A fluff filled epilogue for people who want to know more about what happened in the intervening time between the drive to Kamakura to the appearance of Karin Nakazawa and Seiji Amamiya in their first year at Shujin Academy. Key difference between this and GtD is that GtD: XR is definitely even more light-hearted. If you want heavier drama, or if you want things to be more 'grounded in reality' (IE, you take issue with a grown man greeting his son with a german suplex), I advise you stop reading right now and stick with the sparkly-sweet ending of GtD.Expect shameless fluff, occasional smut, slapstick humor, and yet more boxing.Highly recommended you read P5: GtD first, otherwise a lot of this won't make sense.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Iwai Kaoru/Original Female Character, Kitagawa Yusuke/Okumura Haru, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Niijima Makoto/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takamaki Ann, Sakura Sojiro/Original Female Character, Takemi Tae/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Persona 5: Going the Distance AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594675
Comments: 134
Kudos: 182





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 starts _immediately_ after Ann's last line in GtD. Enjoy!
> 
> GtD: XR. Answering the important questions, such as ‘Why wasn’t Sojiro sad to see Ren go?’ ‘Who was Ren referring to in his text to his mom?’ ‘Will Ren finally admit to his bad shoujo habit?’ and ‘What exactly is Ann hiding about her father?’

March 20, 20xx 

“I know.” Ann said, nodding. “I hope so too. I hope it’s the opposite, Wildcard. I hope that the Pacific carries our memories and dreams forever.”

Ren smiled at her, turning away from the window. He started to lean in for a kiss.

Shiho gagged. “Guys. We’re right here, seriously.”

“Normally you just snicker and take pictures, Shiho.” Ren said, blinking.

“Oh, no. The kissing is fine. I’ve actually started a betting pool on the over/under for time elapsed.” Shiho said, continuing to talk over Ann’s immediate protest. “It’s more that _line_ you just said, Blondie. It sounds like something out of a television series finale.”

Haru laughed. “It’s true, Ann-chan. It’s like we should fade to black and time skip now.”

Futaba nodded. “Yeah! To a vaguely hopeful, mildly bittersweet ending!”

Ann shrugged, uncaring. She leaned over, kissing Ren despite the continued gagging slash cat-calling slash timing on her phone stopwatch app by Shiho. As they broke the kiss and cuddled up in the van, money exchanged hands, with Yusuke winning the bet this time. Of course, Shiho collected a reasonable transaction fee as Futaba looked on, learning entirely the wrong things from the veteran troll.

Ren’s phone rang suddenly. He waved a hand for quiet; the group was able to listen in to Ren’s half of the conversation quite clearly.

“Oh. Takemi-sensei? Oh, I’m just on my way home… Ah, sorry. I meant to call you, but something came up. Everything’s been arranged. Yes, of course! Happy to do it. See you soon.”

Ann looked at Ren curiously. “Was that Takemi-sensei? What did you mean by ‘see you soon’? Aren’t we taking you back to Kamakura?”

Ren put his phone in his pocket. “Right, I didn’t realize you all were planning to come, so I didn’t bring it up. I invited Takemi-sensei to the inn.”

“Why’s that?” Ann asked, her curiosity growing. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Tae Takemi, but she didn’t think the internist was close enough to the group to be coming along.

“I invited her along to get married.” Ren said, with his usual nonchalance.

“Oh. Okay.” Ann said, looking back at her phone.

Silence reigned in the van for three seconds.

“WHAT?!” Someone screamed - or maybe everyone did.

The van immediately swerved haphazardly across the thankfully empty stretch of highway. Inside, chaos reigned.

Ann looked like she was somewhere between wanting to cry or attacking Ren in a betrayed fury. Shiho screamed obscenities while _actually_ attacking, smacking the back of Ren’s head with the notebook she used to track the bets she made about her friends. Makoto tried to reach back from the driver’s seat to punish the boxer for his infidelity, swatting at him with her hand, while Ryuji, riding shotgun, frantically grabbed the wheel to keep them on course. Futaba (not so) helpfully asked Ren how he was going to manage being married while having a girlfriend. Yusuke attempted to sketch the entire mess.

Haru simply looked thoughtful, idly wondering if this meant she still had a shot.

“Ow! Stop it!” Ren yelled. “Mona! Stop biting! Shiho---damnit, that hurts! Makoto, the road! The road! Songbird, stop crying! Give me a second to explain! I’m not the one getting married!”

>>>

March 19, 20xx 

Ren glanced at his phone, outside of Tae Takemi’s clinic in Yongen. _‘She said she’d be free now.’_

It was his last stop of the day - the last goodbye before tomorrow. Ann notwithstanding, of course. She was his first visit of the day, and she insisted on being the last one of the day, too.

Ren smirked slightly to himself. _‘And if I have my way, she’ll be the first goodbye of tomorrow, too…’_

Tabling that thought, he walked into the clinic, waving at Shiho. “Hey, Shiho.”

Shiho grinned. “Hey, champ. Surprised to see you here without Blondie. The way she’s been going on, I didn’t think she’d leave your side all day, today.”

“Ah, no. She has a photoshoot that she couldn’t get out of. We’ll hook up later, though.” Ren said.

“ _Yeah_ you will.” Shiho said, with the sleaziest grin she could muster. She offered her knuckles.

Ren shook his head, bumping it. “You’re a good friend, Shiho.”

“I am.” Shiho said, smiling. “But I’m Blondie’s _best_ friend. So…”

“Shovel-talk part two, now that we’re going long distance?” Ren asked.

“Ah. Read my mind.” Shiho said. She waved him through the door. “Go on in and talk to the Doc first, though. She’s waiting for you.”

Ren stepped into Takemi’s office, glancing at the examination table he laid on so many times in the past. He suppressed a slight shiver at the memory of the taste of some of the medications he tested for her.

Takemi smirked. “Now, now, guinea pig. Don’t be frightened. This is a social visit, isn’t it?” Her smile softened. “Besides… I want to update you on Miwa-chan. She’s doing so much better… I want to thank you. For her, and for the situation with Oyamada.”

“I’m happy it worked out, Takemi-sensei.” Ren said, smiling.

“And there’s one more thing… Well. As long as you can keep a secret.” Takemi said. When Ren nodded, she reached into the top drawer of her desk, taking out Hayakawa’s engagement ring. She slipped it on her left ring finger, smiling a _very_ uncharacteristic smile. She seemed almost _giddy_.

“Oh! Wow… Congratulations, sensei!” Ren said, grinning. “Who’s the lucky guy? And when’s the wedding? I’d love to come.”

“Kyouya Hayakawa, an orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital. As for the ceremony…” Takemi shrugged. “Neither of us have much time to organize that sort of thing, and our families aren’t insistent. So we were just going to sign a family register together.”

Ren rubbed his chin, thinking of everything Takemi had done for him, the Phantom Thieves, and Shiho, especially. To him, this felt like a chance to repay the doctor. “...Takemi-sensei. If most of it could be taken care of for you, would you _like_ to have a wedding ceremony?”

>>>

March 20, 20xx 

“Seriously!? I knew they were dating, but _damn_.” Shiho said, grinning. “It’s great that your parents agreed to do so much of the work for them.”

“It’s something we used to do on occasion.” Ren said. “We don’t have the space for large weddings, but we’ve done all-inclusive packages for small to medium sized groups, up to around one hundred people. Oya-ji in particular seemed pretty confident that we could pull off something for Takemi-sensei. At the very least, they’ll have a few days at an _onsen_ to relax afterward.”

Ann sighed in relief. “Seriously, Wildcard…” She brightened up. “Does Takemi-sensei have a dress yet?”

“Not that I know of.” Ren said, immediately feeling a pang of sympathy for the doctor.

“Hee.” She giggled, making happy Ann noises. She started searching on her phone for appropriate shops in and around Kamakura.

Yusuke nodded. “I see. And this helps you relaunch the inn as well, does it not? Your family just got their license to operate back.”

Ren nodded. Shido had also confessed to trying to crush the Amamiya family’s livelihood along with the reputation of their son. All the barriers blocking them from running their business evaporated. Moreover, Ren’s uncle, Sousuke Amamiya, was now able to take their case without fear of reprisals. He had already won restitutions in the form of repairs from the attempted kidnapping by the mercenaries hired by Akechi and also repairs from Shido’s attempt to find Ren’s parents during the assault on his Palace. Sousuke was currently working on damages for profits lost from having their license to operate unjustly suspended.

Shiho blinked, as her own phone went off. She stared blankly at the text.

**TT: Hey, Shiho. I assume you’ve heard from GP by now? I need a maid of honor. You’re it.**

“Shiho-chan? What’s wrong?” Haru asked, peering over at Shiho’s phone. “Oh! Takemi-sensei’s asking you to be her maid of honor? That’s great!... isn’t it?”

Shiho looked stricken.

“Er… Mako-chan? I think we’ll need to pull over. Shiho looks sick.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “She’s not sick. She’s just upset because it’s the first wedding she’s ever attended, and she has to take it _seriously_.”

>>>

In the early hours of the evening, the beat up van finally pulled to a stop in front of a beautiful seaside inn. All of the damage from the attempt to kidnap Ren’s parents was completely repaired. The sign above the inn was brand new, proudly reading _‘Amamiya Ryokan’._

“Whoa…” Ryuji breathed. “This place is _fancy_.” The exterior of the inn was at a glance quite traditional - but glass was set in the windows, and modern touches were tastefully integrated throughout the building. “Hey, RenRen. Is this it?”

Ren nodded slowly. “...Yeah. That’s home.” He said, quietly. He could hardly believe it. The last time he saw the place, it was through the back window of his father’s truck, on his way to catch the train to Tokyo. It felt like a lifetime ago. When they reached Kamakura, he was happy at first. He readily pointed out his old haunts - his previous high school, the Takeda Boxing Gym, a few other hangouts. It was like a breadcrumb trail back to the inn.

But home still managed to just… creep up on him. It was a mix of nostalgia and anxiety… somehow, he was worried that this wouldn’t be home anymore. Everything had changed so much.

His friends filed out of the fan, chatting excitedly as they unloaded their bags.

Ren was frozen to his seat. Until he felt a soft touch on his hand.

Ann smiled at him, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Come on, Wildcard. Your parents are dying to see you.”

Ren nodded; he got out of the van.

The front door of the inn opened; Inoue and Kenji Amamiya stepped out. Inoue walked to Ren excitedly, throwing her arms around him. “Ren! Welcome home!”

Ren’s eyes went wide. It was his first time seeing his parents in person since last year. He couldn’t find the strength to return the hug.

Kenji’s booming laugh followed. “ _There_ he is! Our boy!” Kenji was a little taller than Ren, but was much broader and filled out - perhaps even a little portly. He was quite handsome, too, with short black hair and a trimmed beard streaked with grey. Other than Inoue’s smile, Ren clearly took after his father. He quickly joined his wife, clapping a hand on Ren’s shoulder, smiling proudly at his son. “We missed you, kid.”

“I… ...I’m…” Ren tried to get the words _‘I’m home’_ out. But the feeling right now was simply too much. It was the feeling of a child, lost in a supermarket. Absolutely despondent, sure that they would be lost forever - only to run headlong into the embrace of their parents. “I..”

He couldn’t. He simply couldn’t. He started to sob into his mother’s shoulder, his body shuddering as everything came crashing into his heart. Everything that happened. The Phantom Thieves. His attempted suicide. An entire year of trying not to miss his parents.

“Ssh…” Inoue said, smiling through her own tears. She spoke softly, stroking her son’s back. “What do you want to say, Ren?”

“Okaa-san… otou-san.” Ren began, in a hoarse voice. He felt like a little boy again... Comforted by his gentle mother; shielded by his larger-than-life father. “ _Tadaima kaerimashita…”_

 _“Okaerinasai,_ Ren.” Inoue replied. Her dazzling smile was warm; her eyes shone happily. She carefully dabbed at Ren’s eyes with a sleeve.

Kenji ruffled Ren’s hair affectionately. “Now, now. That’s enough, kid. You’re making the girls cry.”

“Y-yeah.” Ryuji sniffled noisily. “You’re making the girls cry.”

Makoto shook her head with an affectionate smile; she squeezed Ryuji’s hand before discreetly handing him a tissue.

Inoue wiped at her own eyes, before holding Ren by his shoulders at arm’s length. “Now, let me look at you…” She frowned. “Have you been eating enough?”

Ann smiled brightly. “Sometimes I don’t know where he puts it all, kaa-chan.”

Inoue perked up at the sight of Ann, letting go of Ren to give the blonde girl a hug. “Ann-chan, I’m so happy you could make it! Thanks for looking after Ren so well.”

Introductions (and re-introductions) were made properly for everyone.

Kenji blinked, looking at Ann. His eyes widened with recognition. “Oh! You really _are_ that model from the magazines!” He grinned. “The kid wasn’t exaggerating. You know, the kid always had a thing for for blondes--”

“Shut your mouth, oya-ji!” Ren snapped. The Phantom Thieves blinked at the sudden shift in Ren’s behavior. They had seen him angry before, true. But this was a little different. This anger was more… endearing?

Kenji raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Really? From ‘otou-san’ to ‘shut your mouth old man’? Too bad. You looked really _cute_ when you were saying ‘tadaima’ like that-- Whoops!”

Kenji slipped the flicker jab with a feral grin. Ren also couldn’t help but smile as he relentlessly chased his father down.

Makoto watched in fascination. “Inoue-san… Is Kenji-san also a boxer?”

Inoue laughed as Ren caught his father with a hard left to his solar plexus, doubling him over. “Hm? Oh, no. Ken-san hasn’t had any formal training at all. Certainly not boxing. They’ve just been doing this for years.”

“Doing what for years-- Holy!” Ryuji shouted, as Kenji recovered, grabbing his son and dropping him with a reasonable facsimile of the _ura-nage_ side slam. “That’s Hiroshi Hase’s move, isn’t it?!”

Kenji smiled, speaking conversationally with Ryuji as he put Ren into a half Boston crab. “Hm? Oh! Another connoisseur! That was actually the variation by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, an American wrestler. You see, in The Rock’s version, he--”

“Don’t sit there and explain things while I’m trying to tap out!” Ren yelled, flailing.

“Oh, don’t be rude. Your friend and I are talking--Urk!”

Ren managed to get his coat off, using it as an improvised lasso to loop around his father’s neck, hauling him off. The older Amamiya took off at a run, Ren hot on his heels.

“You can’t run forever, you old bastard!”

“Watch me! Someone’s been slacking on their roadwork, eh kid?! Maybe I’ll tell Kana-chan!”

“You wouldn’t _dare_!”

“Er… Are they going to be okay?” Ann asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Even though we’ve had some renovations, Ren won’t get lost. He grew up here, after all!” Inoue said, waving dismissively.

“That’s not really what I meant--”

“Anesan! Aneiki!”

Ann and Makoto both made instinctive ‘geh’ noises at the monikers, with the accompanying darkening of their expressions.

“For the last time, Yamada, _stop calling me that!_ Especially in front of-- what are you doing?” Ann said, watching as Kentaro Yamada stepped out of the inn and started to help with their bags.

“Hm? Oh, I work here, now! Aniki got me a job working for okaa-san and otou-san.” Yamada said, hefting several bags despite protests from the group that it wasn’t necessary. “It’s been great! If I learn enough, I might open my own place one day. Come on inside, guys. I’ll show you your rooms.”

>>>

Eventually, everyone was settled in - the girls split one of the larger rooms between them; Ryuji, Mona, and Yusuke were in another. Ren of course had his room in the family quarters. They gathered around the table in the dining room.

Yusuke’s eyes bulged at the spread in front of them - a variety of home-cooked Japanese, Chinese, and American dishes. The starving artist nearly shed tears. “Oh, my… but is there any pickled ginger?”

Makoto frowned. “Inoue-san, this must have taken all day…”

“Not at all! Yamada-kun has been a big help!” Inoue said, smiling at the former delinquent. “And Ren’s father isn’t a slouch in the kitchen, either.”

Ren helped himself to the plate of french fries. “Thanks a lot, Ken-chan.”

Kenji and Kentaro both looked up, speaking simultaneously. “No problem.”

Ren made a disgusted face. “Oya-ji, you’re a hundred years too old for _anyone_ to refer to you as ‘Ken-chan’.”

“I’m thirty-nine!” Kenji protested.

Makoto abruptly looked up, a look of abject terror on her face. “This presence… She’s here!”

Haru blinked. “Mako-chan? I don’t see anyone--”

“Renpai~! Welcome home!”

The Phantom Thieves, with the exception of Haru and Futaba, collectively recoiled as the violet-haired girl appeared in the entrance to the dining room. She was, like the last time she appeared to the Phantom Thieves, exceptionally cute. This time, she was in a pair of jeans and an over-large hoody that only served to accentuate her pint-sized form. Her hands were even hidden within the sleeves. She only fooled the two Phantom Thieves that hadn’t met her yet, though.

“Oh! She looks like she’s my age--”

“Don’t look her in the eye, Futaba!” Ryuji said, moving his chair away. “She’ll see it as a challenge!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What a cute girl. Ren-kun, is she your... ...Why is Mako-chan rocking back and forth like that?” Haru asked, blinking. The brunette was back in her chair, the glassy, thousand-yard stare back in her eyes. “And what in the world is she singing…?”

Kaname shrugged, smiling happily. “No idea! Hey, Shiho.”

Shiho waved at Kaname with the chicken karaage in her chopsticks. “Hey, Kana-chan.”

Inoue waved. “Kana-chan! Come in, sit, sit! There’s plenty of food.”

She took a seat on Ren’s other side. “Thanks, kaa-chan!” Kaname chirped, happily. She beamed at Ren before eyeing the fries on his plate. “Ne, Renpai. Isn’t that a little too carb-heavy? How’s your condition?”

“Not a concern, Kana-chan.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I don’t have a fight coming up anyway. My condition’s fine.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Take off your shirt.” Kaname said, as casually as someone might ask to borrow a pen or ask for the time.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Kana-chan. He’s not going to just-- Wildcard, what are you _doing_?!”

Ren blinked. He already had his shirt halfway off. “She’s one of my trainers?”

Ann facepalmed. “I completely forgot that you get stupid like this when it comes to boxing…”

“Stupid like what?” Ren asked, tugging off his t-shirt completely, sitting calmly as Kaname started to poke and prod at his back and shoulders like he was a farm animal.

Haru covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh my…”

Makoto sighed, covering Futaba’s eyes. She blinked, as Ryuji covered _her_ eyes. “Ryuji, what are you--”

“Just… _don’t_ look.” Ryuji muttered, balefully eyeing Ren. In prison, there really wasn’t anything to do other than study and work out - and it showed.

Shiho started to stand up from her seat. “...You know, technically, I work at the clinic where the champ gets checked out. Maybe I’ll go over there and--”

Ann stood up; she stuffed Ren’s shirt back over his head, not bothering to line his arms up with the sleeves. Her pulse was almost visible at her temple; she pointed an accusing finger at Haru, Shiho, and Kaname in turn. “You! Stop looking! You! Sit down! And you! Stop groping!”

Haru coughed, averting her eyes. Shiho and Kaname both sat down, reluctantly.

“It’s not groping.” Kaname said. She scoffed. “Though, I wouldn’t expect _you_ to understand.”

“I’m still making the bird want to sing.” Ann replied, as haughty and confident as Celestine.

“And I’ll still wait for it to sing.” Kaname replied.

The two glared daggers at each other for a few tense seconds… until both smiled. The competitive light never quite left their eyes, though.

“It’s good to see you again, Kana-chan.”

“You too, Ann! Is Renpai treating you well?”

“Mostly.” Ann said, noncommittally.

“Hm. Just _mostly_?” Kaname said, eyeing Ren suspiciously.

“You two are getting along.” Ren said, happily. After a moment of contemplation, his smile faded. “...I’m not sure this is a good thing for me.”

Yamada brought in more drinks. The recently graduated Shujin student hadn’t really sat still for the entirety of the meal. Ren shook his head. “You should sit and relax, Ken-chan. You’re buzzing around like you’re the only person working here.”

“I _am_ the only person working here, aniki.”

“What? Seriously?” Ren said, glancing at his parents. Inoue seemed unperturbed, but Kenji looked _slightly_ nervous. “I guess that makes sense. We only just got the license back. But Takemi-sensei’s wedding is on Friday, isn’t it? We’re hiring a few more before then, aren’t we?”

“Eh… about that, kid.” Kenji started, smiling anxiously. “Well. I was really happy when you brought the idea up, so I started looking at hiring back some of our former employees. But then you texted earlier today, saying all of your friends were coming for the week, too…”

Ren’s eyebrow twitched. He knew this conniving look of his father. “ _And_ …?”

“And I figured, it could be like a working vacation!” Kenji said, scratching the back of his head.

“Cheap son of a bi--” Ren was cut off by a thrown cloth napkin, striking him directly in the face.

“Don’t talk about your grandma that way! And I was even going to give your friends a discount--”

“You were still going to make them _pay?!_ ” Ren said, standing up.

Inoue sipped at her tea, a serene smile on her face as Ren crossed the room in a flash. Kenji dodged the sucker punch; the two engaged in pitched battle once again.

“Kaa-chan! This looks serious!” Ann said, eyes wide as Kenji was caught by a chopping right, only to catch Ren in turn with a leg-sweep.

Inoue blinked. “Oh! You’re right. Ken-san! Ren!”

The two immediately stopped; Ren was holding his father’s shirt by the collar; Kenji’s palm was planted on Ren’s face, pushing him away. They looked at Inoue.

“ _Not_ near the table, please. We’re trying to eat dinner.”

“Sorry, kaa-chan.”

“Right. Sorry, Inoue-chan.” 

The two moved to the other side of the room, resuming their fight.

Ann stared in mute shock.

Kaname nudged Ann with her elbow, nodding. “Ann, don’t worry. Those two have been at it like this for years. Renpai isn’t even closing his fist completely.”

Kenji wheezed, as a punch caught him hard in the solar plexus.

Kaname blinked. “...Oh. Well. He isn’t closing his fist _most_ of the time.”

Inoue reached over, patting Ann’s hand. “Don’t worry, dear. You’ll get used to it.”

“Hm…? ...oh!” Ann blushed at the implication that she would eventually join this family. She momentarily forgot about the fight.

- _crash-_

”Oh! Wow. Nice German suplex.” Shiho said, fascinated.

>>>

After dinner, Ren and Kenji sat on the edge of a covered walkway, their legs dangling. They both looked out over the calm waves of the ocean as the sun started to set. Each of them sported a few bandages; each sipped at a cup of tea.

“You’ve gotten stronger, kid.” Kenji said, rubbing his jaw.

“Thanks, oya-ji.” Ren replied. He cracked his neck. “You’ve really got that German suplex down pat.”

“All in the back bridge, you know.”

Ren watched the waves lap gently at the beach in the distance. He sighed.

“Hey. Tou-san…”

“Tou-san? This is serious.” Kenji said, his grin becoming goofy. “You gonna hug me?”

Ren turned to him, just looking at him quietly.

“...Ah. Damn.” Kenji muttered. “When you look at me like that, I don’t know why people say you take after me. You look just like your mother.”

Ren chuckled. “Both kaa-chan and I know when you’re trying to hide something, you know? Turns out when you love someone enough, you figure out how to read them like a book.” He said, thinking of Ann. “So what’s the real reason you haven’t hired anyone on?”

Kenji sighed. “...You know, last year, we didn’t actually let anyone go?”

“Oh. I assumed that you had to lay people off because we lost our license…” Ren said, quietly.

“It happened when you were waiting for that mockery of a trial. We still had the license to operate. When news broke about your arrest and Shido was running your name through the mud… they all quit. They quit on the inn, and more importantly, they quit on you. Just like the rest of this town, with the exception of the Takedas.” Kenji said, his normally jovial face darkening.

Ren bit his lip, his eyes dropping down to the ground in front of them. He knew there wasn’t any other decision he could have made that night - and he had come so far, in finally forgiving himself. It didn’t mean that he was invulnerable to feeling remorse at some of the consequences, though. He winced as Kenji reached over, lightly rapping a knuckle on Ren’s head.

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you anything, kid. You’ve got a bad habit of trying to make everything your responsibility.” Kenji sighed. “This is on me, not you. Some of them called back after your conviction was overturned and all the stuff about Shido came to light. But you know me. This family is everything to me… And there was a time where I thought that extended to the people who worked here. I mean, they _knew_ you, knew you were a good kid, and they still dropped you like a bad habit. I don’t know if I want to invite people like that back into our lives.”

“I don’t think it’s so simple.” Ren said, softly.

“How do you mean?”

Ren smiled softly. “It’s a two-way street…”

_‘Look. I don’t know any of your friends in your hometown. But I know you. Right down to your bones, Ren Amamiya. I know the kind of people you’d call friends… ...They didn’t just abandon you, but it’s a two-way street. Just like Reiko, even though there was pressure, they had to decide.’_

The younger Amamiya repeated parts of that conversation with Ann back to his father - how he struggled with how his former friends abandoned him.

“It was a self-defense mechanism for me to just paint everyone with the same brush.” Ren idly swirled the tea in his cup. “Probably a necessary one, too. Anger and spite kept me from falling into despair. But that eventually started eating away at me. And eventually I had to acknowledge the fact that it was impossible that everyone I knew was really that craven. At least some of them had to be pressured to stay away from me.”

Ren finished his tea, looking over at his father.

“The point is, oya-ji… I know you and kaa-chan. You wouldn’t have hired rats in the first place. I’m sure that some of them were pressured. I’m not saying that you should go and forgive everyone without a thought. You’re not a martyr. But at some point, someone has to forgive a little. Otherwise, how are any of us going to heal?”

Kenji let out a low whistle. “...That’s a hell of a girl you found, kid. She managed to make a facepuncher sound wise.”

Ren shrugged. “Not so wise. The way I figure it, you don’t have many years left. Why waste it on grudges?”

“I’m _thirty-nine_.” Kenji said, irritated.

“At heart, maybe.” Ren said, wistfully. “You know, I’ll always remember you when you’re gone-- hey? Where are you going?”

“Oh, I’m going to make sure I don’t waste any time, as you say.” Kenji said, seriously. “I’m going to start living my best life by showing your friends your room. And _everything in it._ ”

Kenji bolted down the walkway, shoving a wheelbarrow still left from the repairs and renovations in Ren’s path.

“Oh, shit-- GET BACK HERE, YOU CHEAP BASTARD!”

>>>

Ren stood sullenly in the doorway to his bedroom as his friends crowded inside with Kenji, looking around curiously. He could have stopped them in time - but Ann spritely stepped in his way, her hands clasped behind her back.

 _‘Oh… .That’s disappointing. I thought it would be nice to learn a little more about you, Wildcard.’_ She had said, with a little pout and downcast eyes. Ren was caught so thoroughly that he didn’t even hear Futaba say in a hushed, tone:

“Ooo. Critical hit.”

Ren grumbled, watching as Ann happily perused his past life. _‘I am_ **_such_ ** _a sucker.’_

“Ah! Look at these pictures…” Ann exclaimed, peering at the photographs of Ren and his family. “Wildcard… you’re so _cute_ in some of these.”

Kenji grinned. “He really _is_ , isn’t he? Do you want copies?”

“Ah, no, that’s alright.” Ann said. “I think most of these are in the album kaa-chan gave me.”

Ren blinked. “Wait. Haven’t you mentioned that before?--”

Ann fluttered her eyes innocently. “Mentioned what before? I don’t recall mentioning an album.”

Shiho looked at the posters on the wall. First at the boxers, featuring prominently Mamoru Yamanaka. Then at ‘idol row’. She laughed, pointing out some of the American actresses. “Hey, Blondie, look. Even before he met you, you might have been his type.”

Ann looked up - several idols, including Risette. Several blonde actresses. She smiled sweetly at Ren. _Too_ sweetly.

“Wanna tell me which of these girls is your _favorite_ , Wildcard?” She asked, bumping his shoulder with her own.

“Please kill me now.” Ren mumbled. “Kana-chan? Little help?”

Kaname blinked, looking up from her current task of taking down all the pictures featuring Reiko. “Hm? Oh, sure. If you guys want to see the _really_ embarrassing stuff, Renpai keeps it in the bottom shelf of the bookcase, inside that box.”

“That’s not what I meant by help!” Ren cried, diving for the shelf.

Ryuji was there first, dragging the box out. “Oh. It’s totally gonna be porn…” He trailed off, frowning. “What the hell…?”

Haru peeked around Ryuji’s shoulder.

“Ao Haru Ride… Akatsuki no Yona… oh! Kimi ni Todoke, with a signed copy of the final volume!” Haru gasped. “This is like a collection of the greatest hits of shoujo manga over the last decade. _Really_ sparkly, romantic ones, too.”

“Those aren’t mine! Kana-chan stashes her stuff here sometimes.” Ren said, desperately.

“Really. Kana-chan comes into your _bedroom_ to stash her things?” Ann asked, crossing her arms.

A cold sweat broke out across Ren’s forehead.

Kaname smiled, waving her hand. “Oh, no. I haven’t slept over in here since he was in elementary school. That he knows of.”

“What do you mean that I _know of?”_ Ren asked.

“Don’t worry about it! Anyway, Renpai. I’m standing right here. Do you think any of your friends _really_ believe that this exceptionally girly collection belongs to me?” Kaname said, reasonably. “I mean, most of them know what I’m like, by now.”

Ren sighed. He decided it was time to come clean. “Guys… there’s something I should say.”

Shiho perked up. “Oh! Hang on! We all agreed we need to be outside for this if it ever happened.”

With a puzzled expression, Ren followed his friends outside. They all stopped in the kitchen to get a glass of water each.

Shiho nodded at Ren. “Alright, champ. Go on.”

“...So, yeah. All the manga actually belongs to me--”

Everyone quickly took a sip of water and simultaneously performed a spit take.

“ _No!_ ” They all gasped, in unison.

Ren sighed, but cracked a smile. Even he had to laugh at that. “Anyway, guys. Sorry to ask, but if you guys could help out for the week, we’d really appreciate it. You can forget what the old guy says - you’re staying for free, regardless. And we’ll still find time to relax.”

Makoto waved her hand. “We’re happy to help, Ren.”

“Yep. Can’t let Takemi-sensei down!” Ann said, smiling. “Right, Shiho?”

Shiho frowned. “What does a maid of honor even _do_ …?”

Ryuji shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. I mean, it’s just a wedding. How hard could it be?”

>>>

March 21, 20xx 

The sun started to rise in Kamakura, blazing a glowing trail across the sea from the east. It was a sight unseen to everyone in the inn, save one.

Ren stood just outside the family quarters on a covered walkway, dressed in a hoody, t-shirt, and shorts. His gym bag was slung over his shoulder, and he quietly sipped his coffee as he watched the sunrise. He turned at quiet footsteps. He smiled.

Ann smiled back, closing the distance with an easy familiarity and a kiss, leaning into his chest. “Morning, Wildcard. Up so early?”

“Morning, Songbird.” Ren replied. He slid an arm around her waist, still holding his coffee with the other. “Old habits die hard. I went to sleep in my old bed, and woke up at the usual time. Figured I’d go and train. Looks like you figured I’d go and train, too…?”

Ren looked over Ann’s outfit. She was also dressed for a workout: she wore running shoes, tights, and a hoody.

She nodded. “Mmhm. I guessed you’d wake up insanely early to do this.”

The boxer put his coffee cup down on the railing. Ann smirked knowingly at Ren as his other arm moved around her waist also.

“Ah. Well. Nothing happened to tire me out last night, so I ended up getting a good night’s sleep…” Ren said, with a silly grin.

“You mean nothing happened in your room last night, which is under your parents’ roof. With your parents under that roof, too.” Ann chided.

“So you’re saying that if it was in one of the guest buildings, it would be fine?”

Ann laughed quietly, shaking her head. She gently pushed Ren away. “You’re impossible… Heh. Speaking of impossible. This wedding. Can we really pull it off?”

“I think so. It’s not going to be more than twenty guests.” Ren said. “Yusuke and Haru shouldn’t have trouble with the decorations and flowers. Futaba’s all over the music… You and Shiho are going to help Takemi-sensei with the dress. And as long as Ryuji, Makoto, and Mona are able to handle getting the fish, that just leaves me, kaa-chan, oya-ji, and Kana-chan to deal with the actual food prep.”

“Kana-chan can cook?” Ann asked, curiously.

“First I've heard of it.” Ren said. “I think she just wants to spend time with me.”

Ann sighed. “Probably. And she’ll probably rub it in my face, too. Even if she isn’t actively trying to break us up anymore.”

“Even if she was, it wouldn’t work.” Ren said. “I belong to you, remember? It’s as true now as it was when you first said it.”

Ann stroked Ren’s cheek. “You’re sweet.” She then ran her finger along his lip with an amused chuckle. “Especially when you’re trying to get in my pants.”

“Excuse me?” Ren said, trying to look both innocent and offended.

“You‘ve been wondering what I have on under this hoody this entire time.” Ann said, laughing. “Come on. Let’s go.” She turned, walking away.

“Hm? Songbird, that’s not the way to the road.”

She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes flashing impishly. “Isn’t this the way to the part of the guest wing that no one’s staying in?”

For a moment, Ren was torn. He was already in ‘training mode’: mentally ramped up for a run followed by a visit to the place where he practically grew up - Takeda Boxing Gym. He frowned, glancing at his coffee thoughtfully.

“Hey. Wildcard?”

He looked up. Ann was facing him; she unzipped her sweater just part of the way down. Ren nearly fumbled his coffee mug at the sight of pale, pristine skin. Under the hoody, she was either wearing something exceptionally low cut… or nothing at all.

She turned away with a giggle, headed down the walkway.

Ren nearly tripped over his feet in his hurry to follow.

>>>

Yusuke, Haru, and Shiho sat around the table in the dining room after breakfast at a more reasonable hour. Yamada already cleared the plates, leaving the three with their coffees and wedding planning.

“So, it works out pretty well that Takemi-sensei and Hayakawa-sensei are getting married around now.” Shiho said, uncharacteristically serious. “The cherry blossoms are actually in bloom, and there’s a few trees in the central courtyard. So it’s already well-decorated--”

“Ah. But what do we truly _know_ about the good doctor and her beau?” Yusuke interrupted, his chin held in his graceful hand. “If we want this to be a true masterpiece representative of their love, then we need to know more of them.”

“Nothing too complicated, da Vinci.” Shiho said, shaking her head. “There’s only going to be around twenty guests, not including us. And on top of that, they’re both pretty busy, career-focused people… Neither of them put a whole lot of stock into big, fancy weddings--”

“Career! That’s it!” Yusuke said, his expression sharpening suddenly. “A juxtaposition of their chosen passions. Takemi-sensei, an intensivist in charge of the ICU, always skirting the boundary between life and death. Hayakawa-sensei, an orthopaedic surgeon, using hammers, saws, and drills on the very bones of human beings in direct defiance to the will of the universe…”

Yusuke whipped out his sketchbook, starting to draw table arrangements and ideas rapidly.

Haru sipped her tea, seemingly unperturbed by Yusuke’s bolt of inspiration.

“I think the cherry blossoms are an excellent idea, Shiho-chan.” Haru smiled pleasantly. “When I was outside, I noticed that several of the branches are in need of pruning, anyway. So that should allow us to even harvest some for table decorations.”

Yusuke turned his sketchbook around. “I would like your honest opinion… if you would.” He said, with the confidence of a man completely certain of his success.

The sketch was of a wedding arch and aisle decorations. That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that the arch looked like the entryway to Hades, decorated with what appeared to be bones. The aisle decorations - hammers with skull torch sconces attached to them.

“...You know, Yusuke. I think Ryuji and Makoto might need some help with buying the fish.” Shiho said, her eye twitching.

“Ah, I’d be happy to help.” Yusuke said, inclining his head slightly. “However, they won’t be purchasing the fish until the day before, for maximum freshness. Ryuji was rather insistent last night after duties were assigned. I must say, I was surprised at his level of enthusiasm. In any event… where shall I find _skulls_...”

The artist stood, leaving the room before Shiho could stop him.

Shiho sighed, lowering her outstretched hand. “...This might not have been such a great idea.”

Haru patted Shiho’s arm reassuringly. “You’re quite worried about this, aren’t you Shiho-chan?”

Shiho sighed. “I am. Takemi-sensei’s done so much for me. It’s unusual that a physician will take on a high school student to mentor in the way she has. She’s never really asked me for anything in return… This wedding is the first thing, really.”

“Mm. We could tell how much this has been bothering you. You didn’t even make a joke last night after what Mako-chan said.”

>>>

March 20, 20xx (Last Night) 

Futaba, Shiho, Makoto, Haru and Ann settled in for bed. The orange haired hacker was already fast asleep, a near formless lump under the blankets on her futon. The other four girls were still awake.

Shiho was flipping through a binder that Inoue lent her, with various vendors for wedding-related services. She frowned, the cap of an erasable marker between her teeth as she circled or annotated the laminated pages. She paid no attention to the conversation going on between Makoto, Haru, and Ann.

“So… Makoto? Is everything okay between you and Ryuji?” Ann asked, brushing her long hair.

Makoto nearly dropped her hand cream in surprise. “Why?! I mean, yes! E-e-everything’s fine.”

Ann and Haru exchanged glances.

Makoto sighed. “...so, you noticed?”

“It’s hard not to.” Ann said, gently. “You two have been a little awkward since Valentine’s Day. Did something happen?”

Makoto glanced over at Shiho.

“That much for a rush order buttercream cake? Seriously…?” Shiho muttered.

Seeing that it was safe to continue with the resident troll occupied, Makoto continued. “Ah. Well. Remember how I asked for your advice the day before? Well…”

Ann blinked, watching as Makoto’s eyes dipped down; the third year student started fiddling with a corner of her blanket.

Ann gasped. “So… you two?”

Makoto nodded quickly.

“Oh. So…” Ann frowned. “Was it alright? If he treated you badly, or if he’s overly pushy now, I’ll…”

Makoto shook her head, waving a hand. “No! No, not at all! It was… it was a little scary at first, but he was the same as he usually is. Caring and kind.”

“Oh. Then what’s the issue?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ve been a little busy organizing the graduation events and completing handover to the next student council president. And it’s not like we have a bad time when we do get time alone. It’s actually really nice—“

Haru frowned. “Mako-chan… come to think of it, Ryuji-kun tends to react a bit whenever you say that word.”

“ _‘Nice’_? Why would he?” Makoto asked.

Ann thought back to when she took that step with Ren; it was different, obviously. He had been more experienced than her.

_‘Heh. ‘Nice’ isn’t how I would have described it— ...oh.’_

“Poor Ryuji…” Ann breathed, catching Makoto’s attention. “Er… Makoto? What exactly did you say to him, afterwards?”

“You mean on Valentine’s Day? Well, I…”

>>>

March 21, 20xx 

Early in the afternoon, Ren, Ann, Makoto, and Ryuji jogged towards the Takeda Boxing Gym.

Ryuji grinned at Ren. “Hey, thanks for waiting for me and Makoto to wake up and eat before heading out to the gym, RenRen. This should be pretty fun.”

Makoto nodded. “Yes. It’ll be ni-- _good_ to see where you got your start, Ren.”

“Right. No problem, guys.” Ren said, exchanging a quick, amused glance with Ann. Their detour into the empty guest wing had delayed the plan to train until later in the day, allowing the other couple to join them.

The four friends slowly came to a stop outside the older, but extremely well-maintained building.

It was curiously quiet for a boxing gym. No sounds of squeaking shoes, no sharp impacts, no shouts from trainers or boxers.

“It gets quieter during the school break,” Ren explained. “A lot of the boxers are actually students, and the pros do most of their training in the morning. Coach usually runs a beginner class in the afternoon during spring break because it’s less intimidating.”

They walked in. The gym was spacious; a ring stood in the middle. Boxing equipment, heavy bags, and mirrors on one side. Free weights, a squat rack and benches on the other. Everything looked well-used, but also well cared for. Compared to Shinoda’s, the place had a similar feel, but was substantially less industrial. It was a purpose-built boxing gym, rather than a renovated warehouse.

Ryuji grinned. “Dude. This place is awesome.”

Ren was hit with nostalgia. He walked over to the ring, running his hand along the lower rope. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself through the years, hitting the mitts with Coach Takeda. From the time where he barely came up to Takeda’s waist, up to last year, just before his arrest. “Yeah… It really is.”

The deep, gravelly voice of an older man rang out from the office in the back of the gym.

“Hang on, I’ll be right out. You’re early for the beginner’s class.”

Shinji Takeda stepped out from the office. To the surprise of Ren’s friends, the man was actually fairly short - much shorter than Ren, actually. From the way the boxer described his old coach, the man who was his second father sounded larger than life. But, the surprise faded as the older man approached Ren. He carried himself with a certain hard-edged confidence borne from years of being a fighter himself, and then years of training boxers. Ren’s descriptions of a fierce, formidable man made perfect sense. His stern face studied Ren carefully, seemingly unsurprised to see him back.

Ren stepped forward, bowing formally. “Coach. I’m back.”

“Welcome back.” Coach Takeda replied, automatically. He sized up his favorite ‘son’ (though he’d never admit that to anyone). “You’ve grown. What’s your weight?”

“Sixty-six.” Ren replied.

Takeda grunted. “You left here a lightweight, and you’ve returned in welter. Condition?” He said, waving at Ren’s shirt.

Ren, as usual, automatically took his shirt off.

Ann didn’t protest this time - Shinji Takeda’s _gravitas_ made this seem quite a bit different from Kaname’s use of the move to irritate her. So, Ann just quietly enjoyed the view, while Ryuji again covered Makoto’s eyes.

Takeda prodded at Ren’s shoulders and arms. “Hm. Don’t think we’ll need to have you cut weight, though. Your muscles are good; your reach is longer than I remember. I think it’s time to move up classes. Can’t say I’m surprised, with how tall your dad is…”

The grizzled boxing coach glanced at Ren’s gym bag.

“Get ready and get in the ring. Let’s see how rusty you’ve gotten.” He gruffly jerked his head at the ring.

Ren shrugged, flashing a happy smile at his friends despite of (or likely because of) the curt ‘welcome home’. He started wrapping up his hands, sitting on the apron of the ring.

Takeda nodded at Ren’s friends. He gave them a polite smile; apparently visitors got a different welcome. “Welcome. Shinji Takeda. Everyone just calls me Coach.”

Makoto, Ryuji, and Ann introduced themselves. A flash of recognition crossed the coach’s face as he looked at Ann.

“Ah. You’re that girl who fell onto the screen during that video call my daughter was having with the brat, aren’t you?” Takeda asked.

“! Uh… ...yeah.” Ann said. She nearly forgot about that.

“Heh. Welcome.” Takeda said, amused. “My apologies for any trouble my daughter’s caused. Please, have a seat.”

The three friends took a seat on a nearby bench as Ren finished warming up, wearing shorts and his usual sleeveless tee. Coach Takeda climbed into the ring, hitting mitts strapped onto his hands.

Ryuji sat forward with interest. “Oh! Hey. Do you think Coach would let me spar with Ren? It would be awesome.”

Makoto shook her head. “I… don’t think you’d want that, Ryuji. I’ve sparred with Ren before, and you’ve seen him in the Metaverse.”

“Ah, come on. It’s just RenRen. I’ve seen him hit the heavy bag before, and it didn’t seem to be _that_ crazy. And in the Metaverse, all of us were powered up, remember? Besides, I’ve been in a few scraps--”

A staccato series of impacts interrupted Ryuji. Ren followed Coach through the basics – jabs, straights, hooks, uppers. Basic combinations. Ren started slow as he reacquainted himself with his original trainer, but they quickly caught onto each other’s rhythm. He quickly sounded sharper and faster. Ann noticed immediately a difference between his boxing last year versus today. There was a certain _life_ in his movements, now. She saw it last year as well, from time to time. The time he shadowboxed in front of her and Reiko; the time he sparred with Yamanaka. Even during the time where he fought Keith Shaw in Kapolei.

But even during those times, the weight of guilt and responsibility weighed on the boxer’s shoulders.

The contrast today was manifest. Back home, with his record and his heart clear, Ren’s boxing was _joyful_.

Takeda abruptly started throwing out punches with his mitts. He growled, encouraging his boxer to pull out more power, more speed. “Come on, kid! Let’s go!”

Without missing a step, Ren slipped and parried, punching the other waiting mitt each time he slipped a blow. He never blocked a mitt; he always found a way to slide past or parry and continue his attack, never getting stopped in his tracks.

Footwork was added as Takeda advanced, retreated, and sidestepped. Ren stuck to him, precisely maintaining his distance, his feet always in motion, his shoulders and body relaxed until he willed himself to motion.

Ann watched with fascination, a smile spreading across her face. The spark in his grey eyes, the passion and joy in his movements…

_‘...Just when I thought I couldn’t love you more, Wildcard.’_

Ren caught Ann’s eye. He flashed a grin at her; his pace picked up. The sounds sharpened. The sounds of individual punches started to meld together. Ann held her breath, eyes wide.

Takeda smirked. He slipped one of Ren’s punches, forcing him to overcommit on a right straight. The coach then casually tripped Ren into the ropes, where the young man got tangled, falling unceremoniously to the canvas.

“Ren!” Ann stood, mildly alarmed.

Ren laid flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He then started to laugh.

Takeda’s stern expression also gave way to mirth as he joined Ren in laughing. He took off his mitts, helping his boxer to his feet. He clapped Ren on both of his shoulders, giving him a rough, fond shake.

“Your boxing’s changed a lot, kid. But some things haven’t. You decide you want to impress a girl, so you go and do something stupid.”

“Am I that transparent?” Ren grinned sheepishly.

Ann giggled. “As a window, Wildcard.”

Takeda laughed. “So, Takamaki-san, was it? Do I have you to thank for this kid showing up like this?”

Ann blinked, unsure of what he meant.

Takeda affectionately messed up Ren’s hair. “Full of fire. Alive. The last time he and I talked about boxing, I told him he was incomplete. There’s still room to improve, but I haven’t seen him this lively before. He must really want to impress you.”

An uncertain voice drifted in from the door. A group of high school students of various ages, about eight of them, stood there, wide-eyed. Three girls and five boys. Their chosen spokesman bowed politely but spoke anxiously, wondering what ‘beginner’ meant in Takeda’s gym after watching Ren’s display. “Uh… Coach Takeda? Is this the beginner class?”

Takeda shook his head, jerking a thumb at Ren. “No. We haven’t started yet.” Takeda jerked a thumb at Ren. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a beginner.”

Takeda stepped out of the ring. He looked over his shoulder at Ren. “Hey, kid. Can you get the beginners started? I’m going to be a good host and show your friends around.”

Ren nodded. “Yes Coach!” He hopped out of the ring. “Change rooms are that way, everyone.” He gestured with a gloved hand. “Get changed and we’ll start with some basics.”

Takeda grunted approvingly. He nodded at Ren’s friends. “Come on.”

He waved at the gym. “As the kid’s friends, you’re welcome to use this place while you’re in town. Hell, join the beginner group if you want. Everything you see is everything there is.”

Apparently, that concluded the tour. He stepped into his office, motioning for the three friends to sit. He rummaged around in the mini-fridge in the back, pulling out three bottles of tea. He slid them across the desk as he sat down himself, sipping his own drink out of a mug. He cast a sharp-eyed gaze on the three of them.

“So, who’s he been fighting?”

Ann, Makoto, and Ryuji stared at the old man.

“Uh…” Ryuji looked at Makoto.

Makoto smiled, trying to stall. “What do you mean? He’s just been studying—”

Takeda shook his head. “I know you’re trying to protect him. I understand that. But I am, too. You can’t lie to me about this. His dad called me to say he was coming over. I was expecting soft. Rusty.”

He clenched and unclenched his fist. “His punches are sharper than ever. His technique was a bit sloppy to start, but he tightened that up fast. As for the power, it’s like he’s trying to punch _through_ the mitts… In my experience, a man does that only when he’s fighting to _really_ finish a fight. He’s seen the kind of fighting where the only way to win is by making damn sure the other guy won’t get back up again. You can see it in his eyes.”

Ann started slowly, trying to not lie. “Well, he’s been dropping in at a boxing gym. And he did spar against Makoto, as well as Yamanaka-san and some American boxer in Hawaii.”

“Yeah, I know about those; I read the magazine articles and I made some phone calls. And I know Tetsu’s been looking after him. The old coot called me the moment he saw Ren throw a punch. He knew he was one of mine at a glance. But all of that’s different. Sparring and training aren’t what I’m asking about. Look. It’s hard to explain…”

Takeda gestured with his left hand, making a fist. “The kid and I don’t talk a lot… never have. We converse with our hands. In that three-minute round, he told me that he’s been fighting. Not shadow boxing, not heavy bag, not sparring. He’s been fighting someone, or even a few someones, and he won after a hell of a battle. If you can’t tell me exactly, then tell me if it was worth the risk. Why did he go against my advice to lay low and keep his fists down?”

Ryuji let out a breath. “…RenRen saved us all. Or maybe he showed us that we could all save each other. He’s my friend.” Ryuji paused, looking Takeda in the eye. “He’s my brother.”

Makoto nodded once, sternly. “Ren’s never raised a hand unless it was for a just cause.”

“I love him. For everything he is, and everything he’s done.” Ann said, almost fiercely.

Takeda nodded, satisfied. “Then he’s been good. I didn’t train him just to add another thug who knows how to punch to the world. In that case, we’ll get him back on the inter-high circuit once school starts up again.” He addressed Ann directly. “…Thanks for taking care of him. I think his fists told me about you, too.”

Ann smiled, a little embarrassed.

“Anyway. Better make sure he isn’t killing the beginners…” Takeda said, standing.

He wasn’t. Ren was overseeing warm up drills, getting the beginners to stretch and perform some calisthenics while he went over basic safety rules.

Ryuji fell in with the class eagerly. Ann and Makoto watched opted to watch. Makoto, because she didn’t have much to gain from a beginner class. Ann, because right now, she was more interested in this new side of Ren.

Makoto looked on, curiously. “Ren’s quite different here, isn’t he?”

Ann nodded in agreement. Even though he was their acknowledged leader, as Joker, he never really barked orders at anyone. And, he was always willing to listen to suggestions, treating the other Phantom Thieves like equals who had elected him rather than actual subordinates.

Here, he was still generally kind, but he moved with an air of assertive authority, unafraid to bark orders if it was warranted. There was no arrogance or conceit. It was simply a matter of fact that in the Takeda Boxing Gym, there was a hierarchy to be followed - trainers, then senior boxers, then beginners. There was a certain kind of confidence he exuded here that Ann was thoroughly enjoying.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one. Ann frowned with a bit of jealousy as her focus moved away from him, catching instead the googly eyes the girls in the class made at him when he wasn’t looking in their direction. They were barely even practicing, instead just giggling amongst each other. As she started to feel jealous, she couldn’t help but smile at the irony of the situation. 

_‘Must be how he feels when he’s trying not to act jealous at photoshoots…’_

The class ended after about an hour; for the most part, Takeda let Ren run practice, only having to step in a few times for an additional detail or demonstration. 

Meanwhile, Makoto struggled with trying to help Ryuji adjust and fit headgear on. He managed to talk Takeda into letting him spar with Ren. It hadn’t taken much convincing - Takeda could tell from Ryuji’s movements that the boy had done some training with his Ren, and the elder Takeda had heard about the summer training camp the Phantom Thieves went through from his daughter.

“God, forgot thisf thing isf tight. And I weally whate this mowfguard…”

“Ryuji, this is not a good idea.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “You don’t have to do this. If this is because--”

“Itsf not!” Ryuji said, standing up. Ryuji popped the mouthguard out into a gloved hand. “Come on, it’s just for fun. Honest.”

Makoto sighed. “Fine. Just don’t get hurt, Ryuji.”

Takeda stepped forward, checking Ryuji’s gear. He nodded. “Alright, get into your corner. Three rounds, three minutes each. Have fun.” He glanced over at Ren, who just nodded once from his corner.

“Touch gloves, then back to your corners.”

Ren stepped forward, smiling at Ryuji, offering his right hand out.

Ryuji bumped Ren’s fist enthusiastically. “Hey… why aren’t you wearing headgear, too?”

Ren just smiled, shrugged, and returned to his corner. Takeda nodded at Ann. She rang the bell and started the timer. Ren took an orthodox stance, sliding forward on his toes. His eyes were utterly focused on Ryuji, staring him down. The smile was completely gone. No sign of that exhilaration and joy from the mitt session earlier, none of that kindly air of command from teaching beginners. Just from Ren’s stare and his slow approach, the pressure was overwhelming.

Ryuji stared blankly for a moment. He took the stance that Kaname taught him back in the summer, the one he spent the last hour practising. He started to tense up his right, before remembering what Takeda had said about testing the distance with a jab, first. His left hand shot forward. Ren deflected it, barely.

Ryuji blinked as he snapped his left arm back. It was close! He followed up with repeated jabs, gradually learning his distance. Each time, Ren deflected or slipped the punch by a hair, sometimes leaving Ryuji the tantalizing sense that he had just missed connecting. Another jab – this one met Ren’s guard with a smack.

Ryuji grinned at the feedback. He had been attacking non-stop and finally was rewarded, forcing the elusive boxer to block a punch. He stepped forward with the 1-2 he had been taught, forcing Ren to slide back out of range. Still, though, Ren’s eyes didn’t change. The pressure was there, but certainly less ominous than before. As Ryuji calmed, he started seeing some of the openings he had been taught to look for. A jab there, a straight there. An attempt at a hook, but no overcommitment.

Ren punched back with jabs and straights; Ryuji was able to slip or parry them. He was seeing the punches. Ryuji’s grin widened as he realized that he was holding his own. He pushed his own assault, driving at the openings he saw, following Ren around the ring. He looked pretty good – the training camp, the instruction, plus Ryuji’s own experience in schoolyard fights was showing.

The buzzer rang for the end of the first round.

Makoto, acting as Ryuji’s cornerman, squirted water into the teen’s mouth.

Ryuji grinned. “I’m lookin’ pretty good out there, huh? I’m pushin’ him back!”

Makoto shook her head. “He’s leading you through practice.”

“…What?”

“ _Kakari-keiko_. He’s showing you openings and letting you practice. My father did this with me, too. He’s taken you through all the basic punches and footwork you were taught today. He’s probably going to do it again this round, too. You haven’t noticed? Every time you tried something silly, or something out of form, he slipped it completely. When you were correct, he let you hit a parry or a guard. He’s been conditioning you to box properly.”

“…You’re freaking kidding me.” Ryuji said, annoyed.

“Not at all.” Makoto smiled. “He’s a good teacher. It’s nice of him-- er...”

“Like hell! I want him to take me seriously!” Ryuji said, springing up off the stool.

Makoto shook her head again. “No. No, you really don’t.”

The bell rang to signal the start of round two. Ryuji charged forward, leading with a wild, telegraphed right straight. He knew it wouldn’t connect, but he wanted Ren’s attention. Ren slipped it easily. His left arm tensed as Ryuji overcommitted, leaving himself open for a jab. Ren didn’t take the shot, though.

“Hah! I knew it!” Ryuji said, spitting his mouthguard out again. “Come on, Ren, take this seriously. None of this teaching stuff.”

Ren shook his head. “Ryuji…”

“Come on, bro. Consider it a favor.” He glanced over at Makoto before looking to Ren. “I won’t hold it against you, I promise.”

Ren looked over at Takeda. Takeda shrugged. “Your friend, your call, kid.”

Ren looked at Makoto, as if asking for consensus.

Makoto sighed. “He’s literally asking for it, Ren.”

The beginners chatted excitedly.

Ren frowned. “Alright, Ryuji…”

Ren took his stance, his focus returning as Ryuji replaced his mouthguard. This time, his orthodox stance was different – his left arm was just a hair lower, his glove a little closer to his chest than before. His body turned just a little more. It made Ren’s chin look like a great target.  
Ryuji stepped forward, preparing his jab. Something else was different, though, and he hesitated. The chin felt like a trap.

Ren glared at Ryuji. The pressure was overwhelming before; now it was crushing. The slightly more lax stance seemed far more threatening. Ann leaned forward in anticipation - she saw this once before in Kapolei - the transition from precise, well-oiled machine into something organic. Predatory. From Ryuji’s perspective, Ren’s left glove suddenly seemed to grow larger in size; a sharp, hard impact exploded against Ryuji’s right guard. It stopped him in his tracks.

 _‘What the hell was that?! His jab is as hard as my right!’_ Ryuji thought, eyes wide. _‘I didn’t see any movement from his shoulder!’_

He barely managed to reset his guard as Ren followed up, battering Ryuji’s gloves with precise jabs, sharp and powerful with no telegraphing. Ryuji couldn’t anticipate the motion; all he could do was keep his guard up. Ren seemed to be snapping his left glove repeatedly against Ryuji’s guard, using the motion to continuously circle into better positions and forcing Ryuji to constantly react, with no chance of being proactive.

Ryuji instinctively adjusted his guard, feeling the brunt of the impacts from his right and a little below, aimed at his jaw. His hand started to go numb from the repeated blocks. He kept his right arm wisely up but got ready to move his left hand – he would jab right after the next impact, to try to buy some space to figure out what to do. These jabs from Ren were really irritating. He should be able to turn the tables – all of Ren’s jabs were consistently coming at him from the same direction. That meant they could be dodged. Ryuji’s left hand shifted.

Makoto yelled from his corner, seeing the danger first. “Ryuji, stop!”

Ren’s left hand moved; Ryuji started to make his own move, not able to adapt to Ren stepping in suddenly.

Ryuji nearly spat out his mouthguard as Ren’s left hand came in with a hook to Ryuji’s liver; it felt like every breath he had ever taken had been knocked out of him. Ryuji then heard a loud impact before he felt it; he saw his mouthguard flying through the air before his vision turned white.

In the next moment, he was looking up at Ren, his friend’s face looking terribly concerned. He was lying flat on his back on the canvas.

“Ryuji? Ryuji? You okay?” Ren said.

Ryuji spat out his mouthguard. “Uh… yeah… So… what happened?”

Ren looked uncomfortable. He helped Ryuji up, who staggered slightly.

“…Uh… You fought bravely.”

Ryuji blinked. “Oh. Oh…” He grinned, sheepishly. “Kinda sad that I asked for this, and now I don’t even know what happened, right?”

Ren shrugged. He bumped gloves with him. “We all start somewhere, man. You were picking things up fast, though. If you want, you could join the boxing club instead of track next year.”

The bottle-blonde shook his head. “Nah. It won’t be the same without you there, RenRen.”

Ren shrugged. “Maybe so. So, want to tell me why you wanted to do that so badly? I started to get the sense from your punches that this wasn’t entirely for fun.”

Ryuji glanced over Ren’s shoulder. “Uh… I’ll tell you later! Hey, Makoto…”

Makoto shook her head, inspecting Ryuji’s face and eyes. After a moment, she sighed with relief. “It doesn’t look like you’ll get any swelling. But we should get you some ice, anyway. Come on, Ryuji.”

Ren started pulling at the laces of his boxing gloves with his teeth. Ann appeared in front of him, smiling. “Let me, Wildcard?”

“Thanks, Songbird.” Ren said, holding his hands out. Ann started to untie his boxing gloves, taking a little longer than she had to - and for good reason. At least, to her it was for good reason. The beginners from the class crowded around Ren, asking questions.

“What kind of punch was that?!”

“Why didn’t you do that at the start?”

“Whoa, is this your girlfriend? I want to be a boxer too!”

The boys asked questions, anyway. The girls mostly just drifted towards the change room, looking disappointed as Ann tended to Ren’s gloves and was introduced to the beginners as Ren’s girlfriend.

Takeda rolled his eyes at the display. _‘The more things change, the more they stay the same…’_ “Your stance still drives me nuts, brat. Someone’s going to break that chin.”

Ren shrugged, grinning. “Seems to work for now, Coach.”

Takeda sighed, smiling despite himself. “It’s good having you back, kid. Cocky attitude and all.”

As they waited for Makoto and Ryuji, Takeda and Ren made what counted as small talk for them – going over some basics, some techniques that Ren had to tighten up, or Takeda asking what he had added or subtracted from his training regimen. As he spoke, Ren went through motions of punches, slips, and techniques enthusiastically. Ann watched quietly, a little smile on her face. He was cute like this, excited about boxing, and more than that, happy to be home. It was almost heartwarming enough to make Ann forget that he wasn’t returning with them.

_‘...I somehow forgot that he has an entire life here. At least… at least he’ll be loved here, too.’_

>>>

February 14, 20xx 

_‘The ceilings are smooth.’_

It was an odd thing to notice, certainly. Especially after what just happened; especially with who was nestled against his side. But in that moment of post-orgasm clarity - rather, post- _actual sex_ clarity, it was the first thing that Ryuji Sakamoto noticed. He spent his entire life living in an apartment with textured popcorn ceilings. The ceiling in Makoto’s room was smooth.

Breathless, his eyes settled on his (his!) girlfriend.

Makoto briefly met his gaze. Her beautiful, unique reddish-brown eyes were still dilated, he noticed. At least before they shyly dropped away, focusing instead on the hollow of his throat. Her gaze was normally so bold and straightforward. Now, though, the blankets were drawn up to her neck, hiding her body from him, even if he could feel her skin against his; her lithe form cradled securely in his arms.

It was perfect. Everything was perfect.

He sighed. “That… that was amazing.”

A silence; Makoto slid a hand across his bare chest as she hesitated.

“...Y...yeah. That was.. ...nice.”

>>>

March 21, 20xx 

“...That’s all she said?” Ren frowned, leaning against the wall beside his bed.

“Yeah!” Ryuji said. He was hanging out with Ren in his room, a few hours after dinner. He spun slowly back and forth in Ren’s desk chair. “I mean… what d’you think she meant by that?”

“Hard to say.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Ryuji, really. I love you like a brother, but I don’t think brothers talk about this sort of stuff--”

“Come on, RenRen.” Ryuji sighed. “You’re the only person I can _remotely_ go to about stuff like this. I mean, you and Ann do it _all the time_.”

“Hey, hey. We don’t do it _all_ the time.” Ren said, defensively.

Ryuji rolled the chair over to Ren. He leaned over, poking at a suspicious-looking bruise on the boxer’s neck. “Why were you late to start your run again?”

“...It’s _technically_ physically impossible to do it all the time. Severe hydration issues. But the point’s taken, Ryuji.” Ren shrugged. “So. How does ‘nice’ turn into wanting to spar with me so enthusiastically?”

“Ah. Well…” Ryuji idly kicked his toe into the ground. “Y’know…”

“No, I don’t, really.” Ren said, shaking his head. “That’s why I’m asking. I mean, when Reiko and I--”

He suddenly understood Ryuji’s reticence as he recalled his own first time with Reiko. It started off sweetly; but then it was something like a few minutes of fumbling, then ten to fifteen seconds of amazing, and then several days of _holy crap awkward._

It got better, of course. Far, far better. And with Ann, it hadn’t even been a concern. But after that first time, he spent so much time worrying if Reiko had even enjoyed it, or if he could have done anything differently. He was already a boxer at that stage, so he hadn’t started working out, or trying to foolishly build up some sense of _machismo_. He certainly did spend a lot of time on Google. He inwardly cringed at what he would have felt if Reiko had hesitantly called it ‘nice’.

“...actually, I think I get it, Ryuji.” Ren said, sighing.

“So what should I do?”

“Have you tried talking to her? Just _asking_ what she meant? Knowing her, she probably didn’t mean anything bad.”

“I figured you’d say that.” Ryuji mumbled, leaning back in the chair. “It’s tough, man. It would be weird to bring it up now. And also, we haven’t had much alone time because of her student council stuff. On top of that, her sister’s been home more often lately, same as my ma. So I’m not even sure if she even… ...uh, _wants to_ anymore. I figured if I make myself look more reliable, more dependable… stronger…?”

“Hm.” Ren intoned, thoughtfully. “From my experience, this is a setup for one of two things. First, a series of small misunderstandings that lead to increasing distance between you and Makoto, culminating in a dramatic showdown where you finally get your feelings out properly. Lots of tears and lovingly calling each other’s names. Takes a few weeks, though, and makes people think that you’re just milking the story arc for more chapters. That, or I’m going to propose a seemingly innocuous task to perform to prove your manly manliness to Makoto, only to have it go completely wrong and have it lead to a heartfelt discussion with her. After a series of zany hijinks and gags, of course. Most of them at your expense.”

“What experience is that from?” Ryuji asked, surprised. “Those options sound terrible.”

Ren nodded at his box of shame on the bottom shelf of his bookcase. “Where else? There’s a third option, Ryuji. _Talk_ to her.”

“Ah, damn. You’re probably right. But how do you bring something like that up…?”

“Can’t really help you there, pal. But you might want to wait until after you pick up the fish on Thursday. After that, you two will have all the time in the world to talk. Oh, hey. An innocuous task.” Ren grinned.

“That’s not funny, RenRen.”

“What could possibly go wrong?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the terms here are pretty self-explanatory. So, a few other notes:
> 
> Amamiya Ryokan - Its 'real' location is probably more accurately in Inamuragasaki rather than Kamakura. If it sounds crazy that an inn could have both seaside *and* onsen access, such a blessed place actually does exist. Inamuragasaki hot springs = almost right on the beach. This is basically the reason why I picked Kamakura as Ren's hometown when I first started coming up with the concept of the GtD AU - I wanted an idyllic place that he called home, and more importantly, a place where I could do a hot springs OR beach scenario without too much effort/rationalization as to why they were going.
> 
> Kenji Amamiya - looks like a taller, broader, chubbier Ren, haha. He wears his heart on his sleeve more than Ren does - makes sense, given what Ren's been through. His relationship with his son is somewhat modeled on Isshin Kurosaki from Bleach. The two love each other. A *lot*. Just way too manly men to ever really admit it. So they express it by beating the crap out of each other. He's got the Asian parent thing of being frugal/cheap even though he doesn't have to be. Ren refers to him as 'oya-ji' (old man) due to Kenji's insistence on calling him 'kid'. It will be a running joke where Ren constantly makes fun of him for his age, despite the fact that he's 39.
> 
> Inoue Amamiya - always pleasant/happy/unperturbed by the behavior of her boys. But there's a reason why they immediately listen to her. As seen in GtD, deadly with anything that's naginata-sized. Refers to Kenji as 'Ken-san' affectionately; a holdover from when they were dating. She started off calling him "Amamiya-san", then "Kenji-san", then finally "Ken-san"
> 
> GtD Trivia: If I recall correctly, this was actually the second thing I wrote way back when I started writing all of this stuff. The first thing was an unpublished scene from the attic in Leblanc where Ren and Ann are recounting how they first met, and what their first impressions were - you can see some of that in "Marquess of Queensbury" (chapter 2) where the POV switches back and forth from Ren to Ann.
> 
> The original 'epilogue' didn't involve a wedding at all - it was literally just Ren going home to Kamakura, his dad embarrassing the crap out of him. In fact, in the original, boxing was a very minor part of everything - the only people who even knew Ren was a fighter were Ann and Ryuji, and the only person who'd seen him even hit a heavy bag was Ann.
> 
> I just liked the idea of a wedding. It opens up the possibility of several jokes/amusing things for me to write.
> 
> And poor Ryuji. As those of you on the discord know, I try very hard not to bully him. But I feel it's consistent for his character to bite off a little more than he can chew. 'More guts than brains' is I think a key component of Ryuji's character.
> 
> Ren did pull his punch - it was his signature chopping right. Headgear + pulled punch = Ryuji not really knocked out.
> 
> As for Ryuji/Makoto's first time... a few people have asked if/when I plan to really write what happened between the two of them. Honestly, I'm not sure if I will. Sex between virgins... personally, I think it's hard to write it in a way that's realistic that people would still want to read. Especially with the way I've written the characters, I think it's actually probably beyond my writing ability (and certainly beyond my personal experience - without getting into details, 10-15 seconds followed by *awkward* strikes home for me).
> 
> Rest assured, though, Ryukoto lovers - things will work out. This is a comedy, remember? :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week in Kamakura concludes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundtrack notes for those so inclined, for the wedding:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA7SL9R5ddQ&list=RDvx-ewMGFStY&index=8 (Thinking Out Loud)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx-ewMGFStY&list=RDvx-ewMGFStY&index=1 (Stand By Me)
> 
> Terms/Nicknames:  
> Siscon - Derogatory term for those with a sister complex/unhealthy interest in their sister  
> Haruru - What Shiho calls Haru from time to time
> 
> Reminders:  
> Mamoru Yamanaka's nickname: 'Left Hand of God' (He's a southpaw)

March 23, 20xx 

Shiho sighed, flipping through her binder on Thursday afternoon. There was less than 24 hours remaining before the wedding. Nearly everything was done.

The courtyard was already beautifully decorated; Haru skillfully negotiated Yusuke down from a wedding arch made out of literal bones to beautiful bone-white branches, decorated tastefully with sakura blossoms and ivy. Little else had to be done with the courtyard itself; chairs were already set up, and the weather forecast was good. The maid of honor was a _little_ nervous that Yusuke had barred everyone from entering the dining room and adjoining courtyard, stating that he ‘musn’t be disturbed’.

 _‘If I see even one skull in there, I’m going to lose my jinkies.’_ Shiho groused.

Futaba already finished curating a soundtrack for the wedding, right from ceremony through to reception. Unfortunately, the hacker’s reward for finishing early was being tapped as the closest thing the group had to a workable flower girl, even though she was already a teenager herself. As such, now she was receiving the Takamaki treatment.

“ _Another_ dress?!” Futaba cried, her voice echoing down the hall of the inn. “How many of these things do you have for me to try!? Why do you even have things in my size here?!”

And speaking of the Takamaki treatment, Takemi and Hayakawa arrived yesterday. Takemi was immediately kidnapped by Ann and Shiho; the blonde already had several dresses waiting at a store in town. The fashionista had come through, as usual, somehow finding the perfect dress and a seamstress willing to do a rush job on alterations. Takemi was _slightly_ worse for wear after the ordeal, bearing the same expression that both Ren and Makoto had after one of Ann’s ‘makeovers’ - the side effect of being treated as something between a dress-up doll and mannequin. But, the good doctor was received warmly by that handsome surgeon of hers, and the two of them were now spending the day relaxing in the _onsen_ and being shown around Kamakura by Ren’s parents.

As for the leader of the Phantom Thieves himself, he was busy in the kitchen today, assisted by Ann, Kaname, and Yamada. Hopefully, with careful preparation, there wouldn’t be much left to do on the big day.

_‘All that’s left is for Mako-chan, RyuRyu, and Mona to bring the fish back. They should be back by now, though… Ryuji looked pretty determined to do the hunter-gatherer thing properly. Heh.’_

Shiho made a mental note to use the words _‘nice_ job’ or _‘nice’_ or ‘did you have a _nice_ time’ after the delivery of the fish. Her phone buzzed - a text message from Makoto to the Phantom Thieves group chat, to which Shiho had been added.

**MN: We’ve got trouble! Ryuji’s in jail!**

>>>

“Are you serious!? There’s none left?!” Ryuji exclaimed. It was a few hours before Makoto’s fateful text.

“Yeah, kid. Sorry.” The fisherman said, gruffly. “You should have gotten here sooner. There were a bunch of restaurants that bought up a lot of the stock.”

Mona meowed. “No more fish?! Great job, Ryuji.”

“H-hey! It’s a seaside town! How was I supposed to know that this is the only fisherman’s wharf?!” Ryuji said, defensively. The bottle-blonde had been riding shotgun in the Amamiyas’ truck, navigating off his phone. He took them several kilometres the wrong way to start the morning. “And besides. Whose fault was it that we got off to a late start, huh?”

Mona sank back down further into the backpack that Makoto carried, looking ashamed. He had slept in, forcing Ryuji and Makoto to waste a substantial amount of time trying to find him. “...it’s really hard to hear anything from under the kotatsu.”

Makoto sighed. “...There’s nothing to do for it, now. Excuse me? Sir? Can you tell me which restaurants they were? And are there any shops…”

Ryuji looked around the dock, frowning. There had to be another option. He blinked, rubbing his eyes. _‘Why does that guy look familiar--...!’_

“Excuse me? Nakanohara, right?”

A bespectacled man looked up. It was indeed Natsuhiko Nakanohara, the cousin of Reiko Takahase. While he hadn’t actually met the Phantom Thieves in person due to Reiko’s last minute substitution, Ryuji had still seen his photograph from when Mishima first set up the meeting. The former artist was still in Kamakura and working for his parents’ fishing business. He had just finished tying up his boat to the dock.

“Er… yes?”

Ryuji glanced at Makoto and Mona, grinning. “Hey, guys? I’ve got a great idea.”

>>>

 **RA: Seriously, dude? Didn’t we have a talk about how you’re not going to try to show off, or go out of your way to look more reliable and manly? You’re about to go** **_fishing_ ** **to try to save a wedding.**

**RS: im not just tryin to show off, honest! seriously. how else are we gonna get the fish you need to make food for the wedding?**

**RA: ...By doing what Makoto said? Going to the restaurants and shops to see if they’ll sell? Even for just 20 or so guests, that’s a lot of fish, man. How are you going to catch that many?**

**RS: we can always go to the shops if this doesnt work out! trust me. don’t tell Shiho, she’ll just freak and tell us to get the fish from a shop**

“Hey, Wildcard? How did you want these carrots cut up again?” Ann asked.

Ren looked over, again momentarily taken aback by how his girlfriend looked with an apron on. It was red (of course) and she had on a simple t-shirt and jeans combination underneath, with her hair tied back in a ponytail for cooking. But as usual, the model had a way of bringing out the best in every outfit she put on. This time, it made the boxer imagine what that apron would look like if...

“You’re staring again.” Ann smirked, peering up at him.

“Ah. Sorry.” Ren said. “I’m really not used to seeing you like this.”

Ann slid her cutting board over beside Ren, playfully bumping his hip with her own. “What does it make you think of?”

“Mm… I don’t know. Maybe domestic bliss.” He leaned closer to Ann, lowering his voice with a rakish grin. “Or maybe you wearing that apron...”

“I _am_ wearing this apron.”

“...and nothing else.” Ren finished.

“Sounds interesting, Wildcard.” Ann murmured, her amusement lighting little fires of hope in Ren’s heart as he realized that his girlfriend wasn’t outright rejecting the idea of the legendary ‘naked apron’. She poked his chest with a carrot. “I think that’d be a good look for you, too-- Ouch!”

Ren flinched as well, as they were both struck from behind with flying daikon.

Kaname smiled pleasantly. “Ah, sorry. Those things just get away from you, you know?”

>>>

“...Wow. You know, he’s actually frighteningly talented at this.” Mona said, as Ryuji hauled in yet another fish. “I think we actually have more than enough, now.”

Makoto watched as Nakanohara dropped the mackerel into a cooler. “I know he gets decent grades when he studies hard and applies himself, but this… this is verging on _savant_ level fishing.”

As it turned out, Ryuji Sakamoto had a hidden talent. He was the Mamoru Yamanaka of the pole and reel; The Hook Hand of God. From the moment they started fishing, the former track star reeled up fish after fish, keeping Nakanohara busy the entire time. The fisherman hadn’t taken much convincing to take them out - once Ryuji established that they were connected to the Phantom Thieves, he had been eager to repay his debt in any way he could. The former artist (and current fisherman) laughed as Ryui caught one more skipjack.

“It’s remarkable. I’ve never seen anything like this before from a beginner. In fact, I think we can actually stop, now.”

Ryuji put down his fishing pole, with a triumphant smile. “Hey, what’d I say? I made the impossible possible, didn’t I?”

Makoto chuckled. “Amazingly dependable, Ryuji.”

Ryuji grinned, putting an arm around Makoto’s shoulders. “Not bad, right?”

She smiled back, patting his cheek with her palm. “Not bad. Let’s get these back to the inn.”

Nakanohara took them back to the dock, where the three humans worked together to unload their catch. The fisherman looked up at the approach of two of the local police officers. He waved, giving them a friendly greeting.

“Oh, hey, Nakanohara. Good catch, today?”

“Yes! Not mine, I’m sad to say. This kid over here’s some kind of fishing genius. He caught all of this.”

One of the officers let out a low whistle as he looked over the collection of fish, almost all of them quite large. “Damn. That’s pretty amazing.”

“Heh. I know, right?” Ryuji said, hefting a cooler off the boat. “Not bad for my first time in Kamakura.”

“Ah. Congratulations!” The police officer said, with a smile. “Because you’re new to the area, we’ll just need to see your fishing license, and we’ll leave you to enjoy your catch.”

Nakanohara nodded. “Sakamoto-kun? You’ve got your license on you? Or did you leave it in the van?”

“...license?”

The police officers exchanged glances, their friendly smiles evaporating.

>>>

“Thank you, officer.” Makoto said, as she was allowed into the holding area of the Kamakura Police Department. She spotted Ryuji easily - he was the only one in the cells at the time. He was sitting on the metal bench, staring glumly at his shoes. He perked up at the sound of the door and walked over to the bars of his cell.

“Oh, thank God. Makoto, am I gettin’ out of here?!” Ryuji asked, clutching the bars. “What about the fish? What’s happening with them!?”

Makoto sighed, shaking her head. “Technically what you did was poaching, Ryuji. There’s usually at least a fine to pay. Right now, they’re trying to figure out what to do with you, since you were on a licensed boat - even if you yourself don’t have a license. As for the fish… ...Right now, they’re all considered ‘evidence’.”

“...Ah, shit.” Ryuji sighed. He glanced at the time. “It’s too late for you and Mona to scope out the shops and restaurants, too, isn’t it?”

Makoto smiled despite the current predicament. “It’s just like you to worry about that, rather than your own situation.”

“...Heh. Yeah.” Ryuji sighed, resting his forehead against the bars. “...Guess I’m not so dependable after all, right? First the sparring with Ren, and then this--”

He was interrupted by the touch of her hand on his, and a light kiss on the top of his head, through the bars. He looked up at Makoto, surprised.

“Is that what’s been bothering you, Ryuji?” Makoto asked, quietly.

Ryuji bit his lip, wondering how to go about this.

_‘...Ah, hell. We’ve already had the hijinks. Might as well go for it.’_

“What did you mean by _nice_?”

Makoto blinked; she blushed, averting her eyes. “...What… What did you think I meant?”

Ryuji sighed. “I don’t know! It’s been drivin’ me crazy! Like, were you just _being_ nice? I mean… I’ve never done anything like that before, and since then, we haven’t really had a lot of time together. I wasn’t sure if you were avoiding me, or if I did something wrong, or--”

“No! Ryuji, no. It’s not that.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “We’ve both been really busy, so it’s not like I’ve been avoiding you. When I said it was ‘nice’... ...I just didn’t know how to put everything into words. It was my first time too, remember?”

She paused; she took hold of his hands through the bars. “It could have been so scary, or painful, or awful. But with you…” She smiled at him; it was a sweet, shy look. One reserved for the boy in front of her. “...It wasn’t any of that. I mean, sure, it was awkward, embarrassing, and clumsy…”

Ryuji blinked. “Wait, who was the clumsy one--”

Makoto coughed. “--But it was _you._ I was just so happy that it was _you._ And that’s all that really matters to me.”

Ryuji chuckled, squeezing Makoto’s hand. “So, all of that came out as ‘nice’? You’re pretty bad with words, Makoto.”

Makoto rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you the one who was so worked up over everything that instead of asking me directly, you challenged an experienced boxer to a sparring match and then got arrested for poaching because he was so eager to go fishing that he didn’t buy a license?”

Ryuji laughed. “You got me there.” He quieted, smiling hopefully. “Hey. So if words aren’t our strong suit?”

Makoto glanced over her shoulder; they were alone. “...Just once. Quickly.”

They kissed, through a gap in the bars.

_-Click-_

“Now isn’t that sweet.” Ren intoned, holding up his phone. “Student council president slash biker babe kisses the notorious poacher of Kamakura. Ryuji Sakamoto, scourge of the seven seas.”

“Mmhm.” Shiho said, nodding, also taking a picture.

Makoto recoiled, shoving Ryuji back from the bars. “How long were you there for?!”

“Long enough to see that we’ve taken the second route. Innocuous task and zany hijinks.” Ren said, grinning. “Great job with the fish, by the way.”

“...You mean we can keep the fish?!” Ryuji asked, excitedly.

“Yep!” Shiho beamed. “And that concludes our laundry list of tasks for preparation. All we’ve got left is the big day itself.”

Makoto sighed with relief. “How did you manage that?”

“They looked over the regulations. Nakanohara’s fishing license was deemed sufficient, provided we call it ‘his catch’ for his own personal use.” Ren said. “Easy enough to fix. We just invited him and his family to the wedding, and the fish are their ‘gift’. As for your arrest and processing, it won’t even show up on your record, Ryuji. The arresting officers… Well, they were _my_ arresting officers. They feel like they owe me.”

Shiho gave a thumbs up. “Once the license issue was settled, they were happy to back off - especially since we’ve also extended them and a few other officers an invitation to the party out of gratitude for their leniency.”

Ren blinked. “...Wait. You invited them, too?”

“...Yeah, champ. What’s the problem?”

“Songbird invited a few people who are helping out with Takemi-sensei’s dress, hair, and makeup. I don’t think we’re just looking at just twenty people anymore.” Ren took out his phone, sending and receiving a series of texts. “And both the bride and groom have more people coming, too… apparently, when word got out they were having a ceremony and reception, a bunch of people at the university wanted in. They’re both pretty popular doctors…”

Shiho glanced briefly at Ren’s phone. She then clenched her fists and closed her eyes, letting out a long, slow breath as she tried and failed to find her happy place. She settled for taking decisive action. She opened the door to the holding area, calling into the police station. “Excuse me? Can you please let our friend out?”

She turned to Ryuji. “Get your ass back out there, RyuRyu. You’re fishing tonight. We need to feed eighty, now.”

Ryuji seemed shocked for a moment, but then flashed a grin, energized not only by his release from jail, but by the tender words from Makoto.

“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Makoto frowned. “Why? Nakanohara-san’s boat is pretty big already. It looks like it should be fine.”

“Ah, I know that.” Ryuji said, sighing. “It’s a movie quote, it was supposed to make me sound cool. It’s— ah, forget it.”

>>>

March 24, 20xx 

It was the day of the wedding.

The Phantom Thieves worked through the night. They managed to expand the decorations and seating to handle a wedding of up to one hundred, in the event of additional unforeseen guests. Ryuji, Makoto, and Mona came through big time - there was more than enough fish, and the three managed to collect more of the other ingredients as well.

There was just one problem.

“I see the issue, Shiho. No matter how we cut it, we can’t be in enough places at once.” Makoto said, looking over Shiho’s binder. The girls were sitting at Japanese style table in the living room of the family quarters.

Shiho sighed. “Right? Blondie and Gremlin are helping out with Takemi-sensei’s makeup and hair right now, along with the people she met in town… Yusuke and Haru are finishing up the area for the reception. Ren, his parents, Kaname, and Ken-chan have been in the kitchen all day. And that just leaves you, me, and Ryuji to try to corral people for the first wedding we’ve ever been to. This is crazy. Even if the food’s buffet style, we still have to bus plates, fill drinks, and…”

Inoue poked her head into the room.

“Ah, Shiho-chan. People are arriving!”

“Ah, hell. This early?! I’m not even in my dress yet--”

Kenji stormed past Inoue, shaking his head. “The hell are _they_ doing here?! No one invited them!”

Inoue winked at Shiho. “Not guests, dear. Relax. You should follow Ken-san, though. I’m going to get Ren...”

Shiho and Makoto went after the patriarch of the Amamiya family, finding him standing in front of the inn. He had his arms crossed; he stood between the main entrance and a small group of people who seemed to be locals of Kamakura. From what they were wearing, they all seemed to be former employees of the Amamiya ryokan - and they showed up ready to work.

“I don’t know why you’re all here, but I’m not hiring.” Kenji said, frowning.

The person at the head of the group was a middle-aged woman. She bowed politely. “Then, consider this volunteer work, Kenji-san. We’ve seen those young people running around town the past few days to put this together… We want to help.”

Various people in the group nodded firmly.

Her smile faded, as she sighed. “And… ...Well. Some of us were pressured to quit, but that doesn’t fully excuse what happened. Please accept our help for this evening as a means of apology.”

Kenji grumbled. “Ah… Well, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to--”

“Apology accepted, Konno-san.” Ren said, striding forward. He took the woman’s hand, shaking it with a smile. “Thanks for coming. We’re in over our heads, here.”

With that, the former employees filed past Ren and Kenji, laughing, smiling, and eager to work.

Kenji sighed. “Kid…”

“Like I said, oya-ji. Why waste what few years you have left on a grudge?” Ren said.

“I’m _thirty-nine_.”

“Going on eighty. A tragedy, I know.” Ren said, with exaggerated melancholy. They both looked up as the front door to the inn burst open.

Standing there was an _adorable_ girl in a mint-green dress with a black bow tied around her waist. Her hair was done up; she stared at Kenji and Ren with big, brown eyes.

Kenji blinked. “Er… ...Uh, kid. Is this one of your friends?”

“...Uhm…” Ren mumbled. The damage was severe. This girl was beyond cute.

“Ren-ni! The music!”

Ren blinked. “... _Gremlin?!_ Holy-- What happened to you?!”

“Your _girlfriend_ happened to me.” Futaba snapped, irritated. “Stop staring! Siscon.”

Kenji snickered. “Haha. Siscon--”

“You’re no better, oya-ji.” Ren scoffed.

Futaba stamped her foot for attention - only driving the cuteness factor into sheer absurdity. “Look. I tried testing the sound system. It’s a disaster. The wiring’s all wrong.”

“What do you mean the wiring’s all wrong? The renovations were--...oh, you cheap old bastard.” Ren said, shaking his head.

Kenji raised his hands defensively. “H-hey! I figured this way, we could put the money towards other things. And I followed the instructions!... mostly.”

Futaba rolled her eyes. “I can fix it, but there isn’t going to be any music for the first couple hours. At least, not from my playlist. We’ll need you to step up, Ren-ni.”

>>>

Everyone gathered in the main courtyard for the ceremony. The door leading onto the path that had been designated as the ‘aisle’ cracked open, Shiho peering out. Everyone was seated; all disasters had been successfully averted. Her eyes settled on the stand up piano that had been moved from the dining hall to the courtyard; apparently, it was the one that Ren learned on. Shiho bit her lip.

 _‘All disasters averted_ **_so far_ ** _.’_

Another door off to the side opened; the crowd murmured as Ren stepped out.

The boxer, normally dressed so casually, was wearing a suit that actually _fit_. Including the sort of skinny tie that he preferred from his part time job playing at Crossroads. He wasn’t wearing his glasses - ever since Ann slapped them off his face in February, the boxer hadn’t bothered. There didn’t seem to be much point anymore.

 _‘Da~amn. Wonder if Blondie regrets letting him go without the glasses.’_ Shiho thought, finally allowing herself a cheeky smile. It had been a stressful few days. She looked for Ann in the crowd; the girl’s blonde hair was easy to pick out, as was the flowy, navy blue v-back dress the girl chose in an attempt to ensure she didn’t outshine the bride. Unfortunately, the model had a tendency to make _anything_ she wore look good.

But Ann was confident in her choice of dress for Takemi. And currently, the blonde looked like she had little else on her mind other than Ren.

_‘Heh. Too busy drooling to worry about the fact that every other woman in here is doing the same thing… Oh. And some of the guys, too.’_

Ren sat down, cracking his knuckles. With that little smile of his, he started to play. The upbeat, gentle tune of _‘Thinking Out Loud’_ started up, signifying the start of the procession.

Shiho rolled her eyes at Futaba, who was slowly starting to slip on one of her masks.

“Gremlin…” Shiho whispered, warning.

Futaba pouted. Shiho’s heart _may_ have melted a little.

“...Just, get out there! Ren promised he’d buy you something after.”

“Did he?”

“Well he doesn’t _know_ he promised, yet. But he will.” Shiho allowed.

“Eh. That works.” Futaba said. She stepped out, to the gasps and whirring camera of the photographer. The remainder of the procession followed, taking their position at the arch. As Kyouya Hayakawa took his position, he outshined even Ren. It may have been his maturity; he was a handsome man in the prime of his life, after all. Or maybe it was his tuxedo, perfectly fitted.

But more likely, it was the look on his face as Ben E. King’s _‘Stand By Me’_ drifted out from the piano and Tae Takemi stepped out onto the aisle. She wore a simple white, flowing dress that made the former back-alley doctor _glow_ . It wasn’t her mini dress and ripped leggings, but it was still _her_ \- the uncomplicated gown was somehow the _essence_ of a wedding dress, without frills, without unnecessary embellishment. She held a bouquet of light pink sakura blossoms; she smiled slightly as she regarded Kyouya.

 _‘I guess it’s true what they say…’_ Shiho thought, wiping at her eye quickly. _‘A man does look his best when he’s in love. And Hayakawa-sensei’s never looked better than he has today.’_

As Takemi drew closer to the arch, Ren skillfully faded into Pachebel’s ‘ _Canon_ _in D’_ , before continuing on with _‘Stand by Me’,_ albeit much more softly.

The officiant nodded. “Dearly beloved…”

>>>

The team gathered at a table in a corner of the reception, each of them looking exhausted, but happy.

Ryuji whistled, looking around. “Man, Yusuke. You and Haru did one heck of a job, here.”

Yusuke sighed. “Ah, yes. Not _quite_ my initial vision of contrast, but I must admit. The white and pink of the sakura blossoms _do_ contrast nicely with the ivy.”

Shiho leaned over to Haru. “How’d you reign da Vinci in?”

Haru smiled serenely. “I told him that if he wanted skull-themed decorations, he could start by using his own.”

“Haha. Nice. ..Wait. You actually said that?”

“Mm.”

“God, Haruru. I forget how scary you are, sometimes.”

The reception hall was beautifully decorated. The dining room was actually part of a modular dining hall, with walls that could be moved and opened up as required. Currently, it opened up onto another courtyard that faced the ocean; the guests danced and chatted as the plates and cutlery from dinner were put away. Kenji and Inoue were speaking to their former - and likely soon to be current - employees, fences apparently mended.

Ann sat beside Ren, leaning into his side. His arm was around her shoulders. By now, he had doffed his jacket, rolling the sleeves of his white shirt up. He had popped the top button of his collar and loosened his tie. Ann played with the tie, casually winding the cloth between her fingers.

“I like this look, Wildcard.” She sighed, giving a sharp look to a passing guest. “Too bad everyone else does, too.”

“I think they’re looking at you, Songbird.” Ren said, laughing. “You knocked it out of the park.”

Ann beamed. “You mean _we_ did.” The pair had collaborated on the first dance of the evening, as Futaba still hadn’t quite fixed the sound system. The newlyweds had requested _‘The Evening Primrose’_ : an unusual choice for a wedding in Japan, but Ren knew the song - and amazingly, so did Ann, singing in the original Mandarin.

“I hope I got the pronunciation right, though.” Ann wondered. “I mean, I don’t know the language. I just memorized the syllables-- What’s going on over there?”

“Hm? Oh, looks like Takemi-sensei’s getting ready to throw the bouquet.” Ren said, shrugging.

“...I’ll be right back.” Ann stood, moving quickly to the front of the gathering crowd, much to Ren’s amusement.

To Ann’s chagrin, she found herself joined by Kaname. She expected that, at least. What she didn’t expect was Makoto, Haru, and Shiho.

“Seriously?!”

Kaname smirked, trying to find the best position. “I have to let you have Renpai. Doesn’t mean I have to let you have _this_.”

Makoto nodded, a competitive glint in her eye. “And I have my own reasons, now.”

Haru and Shiho exchanged glances, and then grinned at Ann.

Shiho laughed. “We’re just here for fun, Blondie. Of course, if you’re _afraid_ , we’ll just sit back down--”

Ann narrowed her eyes. “ _Bring it_.”

>>>

“Jesus, Kana-chan. You are an unholy terror…” Ren said, surveying the wreckage of two tables and several chairs.

Kaname grinned, despite the rip in her skirt and the mess that her hair was in. She held up the bouquet triumphantly, sitting on the edge of an intact table. The white blossoms were tattered and barely hanging on at this point.

Ren sighed. He found a first aid kid, cleaning and bandaging the scrapes on the violet-haired girl’s knees and elbows. Kaname smirked over at Ann - for both the result of the bouquet toss as well as the attention she was receiving from Ren. Shinji and Hana Takeda approached. Hana shoved Shinji forward.

“Well? Aren’t you going to say something to your daughter?!”

Shinji nodded gravely; his cheeks were a little red from the alcohol. “Mm. Kaname. That was a great left. I’m happy to see that you’ve kept up with your boxing-- Ouch!”

Hana sighed, smacking the back of Shinji’s head. “What your father _meant_ to say, Kaname, is that you’ll be paying for the broken tables and chairs.”

“Worth it.” Kaname said, grinning.

Hana rolled her eyes, but affectionately ruffled the girl’s hair. “I didn’t say it wasn’t. Now come on. I think it’s time to go home.”

Ryuji watched Kaname go, shaking his head. “What’s the big deal, anyway? It’s just a bunch of flowers.”

Haru looked at Ryuji. “Oh. You didn’t know, Ryuji-kun? Whoever catches the bouquet is the next to get married…”

“Oh.” Ryuji said. “Did you know that, Makoto?”

Makoto nodded.

“Oh… oh!” Ryuji laughed. “Pretty funny joke there, going after the bouquet to freak me out. … ..it _was_ a joke, right? Makoto? Where are you going?”

Ryuji stood, going after the irritated brunette.

Shiho laughed, looking at Ren. “Going to help him out, champ?”

“I'm not touching that one with a ten foot pole, Shiho. Anyway. It’s getting pretty late, isn’t it? I think I’m going to call it a night. We still have tomorrow to hang out in Kamakura, and I don’t want to waste it all by sleeping.”

“Ah, wait.” Futaba said. “This is the big party of the trip, right? There’s one more thing we should do… ehehehe… Follow me!”

Futaba led them back into the family quarters, to the television in the living room. Using her laptop, she casted a slideshow to the screen.

“Oh! That’s why you wanted all my pictures…” Shiho said, smiling. “Good job, Gremlin.”

It was a slideshow of the entire past year - all of Futaba and Shiho’s candid photographs, as well as several ‘borrowed’ from the phones of the Phantom Thieves. It was both hilarious and heartwarming, ranging from the Yusuke and Ren at the festival, to the boys at the hotspring, to Makoto clinging to Ren’s leg. And many pictures of Ann and Ren, stealing moments together.

“Wow. There is a _lot_ of fanservice here.” Ryuji said. “RenRen, are you allergic to wearing shirts or something?”

Ren started to respond, until the final picture came up - the day of Ren’s release from prison. It was the entire group of them standing in front of Leblanc, packed tightly together for a selfie. Ann was holding the camera. They were all finally reunited, six weeks after winning the final battle.

“...It’s been one hell of a year, huh?” Ryuji murmured.

“Indeed…” Yusuke said.

Futaba looked over at Ren, sighing. “...Do… do you _really_ have to stay?”

Ren started to speak up, a slight sparkle in his grey eyes.

Ann bit her lip before interrupting Ren, responding for him. “He really should. His parents would be crushed if he didn’t, and there’s no reason _not_ to. And this is his home…”

Kenji and Inoue spoke up from the back of the living room. They had quietly stepped in during the second half of the slideshow.

“So this is where you all went!” Kenji said. “...Why are you all looking so down?”

Inoue poked Kenji. “They’re just sad that the week is nearly over, Ken-san.”

“Ah, right, right…” Kenji said. “That makes sense, then…”

Inoue smiled at the group. “You shouldn’t be so sad. You have your entire lives ahead of you, and you’ll make even more memories. I mean, if that was from just last year, can you imagine how many you’ll have from this year? Especially now that Ren won’t have to worry about being on probation.”

Ryuji sighed. “Yeah… But RenRen won’t even be with us…”

Ren started to smirk. “Ah, well. About that…”

Inoue blinked. “Oh. You haven’t told them, yet?”

The group turned to look at Ren, wide-eyed. His smirk turned into a full-on grin.

“So, uh… can I get a ride back on Sunday?”

Suddenly, it became clear - why Sojiro hadn't seemed sad to see Ren go; why the boxer packed so lightly for the trip. From the start, he had no intention of moving back to Kamakura.

The somber gathering devolved into hugs, back-slapping, and shoulder-punches from the various friends. They quieted, as they turned to look at Ann - the single Phantom Thief who hadn’t joined in the celebration.

The blonde girl stared at Ren, her hands covering her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes, already starting to flow.

Ren disengaged himself from the dog-pile of his friends, leaning forward to brush at Ann’s cheeks gently. “Hey, Songbird? Are--”

She knocked the wind out of him, tackling him with a hug. She sniffled, grinning at him through her tears. “You aren’t supposed to hide things from me, you idiot. I’ll let this one slide, though… ...Ah. How did you pull this off? And what about your parents, and everyone here in Kamakura?”

“Ah, it’s fine. We’ve got Yamada-kun, now. And we hired back a bunch of the old staff tonight.” Kenji said. “As for how the kid pulled this off… Well, we got a call from this guy at the end of February. It wasn’t pretty, but he begged us to finish out high school at Shujin. I mean, I could _hear_ the tears, and the sniveling… It was really pathetic. He was all, ‘Dear young and handsome otou-sama, I-I really need to s-stay. Th-there’s this girl, and my heart is already br-breaking…’ ”

Inoue jabbed him hard in the ribs with a stiff finger.

“Ouch! Sheesh. Just a joke. But really, the kid made some good points. Really good. I don’t remember him being that persuasive…” The former thieves exchanged glances, thinking of all of Joker’s Shadow negotiations.

Ren nodded. “Here in Kamakura, I was never more than an average student… I just never felt the urge to try. I was just enjoying boxing, I guess. I wasn’t even considering university. When I went to Tokyo, I found out I could actually get good grades.”

Inoue smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how proud we were when he sent us his first exam scores. We’d love it if he could go the university route.”

Kenji laughed. “I was just happy his brains haven’t been punched out of him yet. So, there’s the grades. And then this guy gets Sojiro on the phone. That guy vouched for Ren. Heh. He said that the kid’s worked hard enough at the café and with helping out Futaba-chan over there that he’s more than paid for his rent. And then he tried to pay the money back that we sent him to put Ren up!”

Inoue waved a hand, embarrassed at Sojiro’s gesture. “So, we were happy to offer to have Ren stay on and keep helping out. This way, Sakura-san can spend more time with Futaba-chan.”

Ren shrugged. “I suggested it. I don’t mind working for that old guy, and the café’s quiet most days anyhow.”

Inoue continued. “And then Ren got his homeroom teacher to call us. She explained how he was a model student, and how he had helped her out with some extracurricular projects. Though, strangely, she wouldn’t get into the details. And then a few hours later, he had Yoshida-san, that Diet member, call us also. He told us how Ren inspired _him_. And then tonight, Takemi-sensei came to speak with us about everything he’s done for her and that little girl.”

Inoue laughed, throwing her hands up helplessly. “How he has so many influential friends, I have no idea.”

Kenji looked at each of the teenagers warmly. “But the most important thing was all of you. When Ren got arrested, he really didn’t have a friend left. Everyone at that school abandoned him. His friends. His teachers. I know some of them were pressured. Those ones mostly just ignored us and kept quiet. But some of them started spreading the lies themselves for no reason other than to gossip about a ‘fallen star’ of boxing. They left my son alone in the cold and were all too happy to chat about it like entertainment news.”

“But you… all of you knew what he had been accused of, and you saw past it. You didn’t care. You didn’t let anyone tell you to not befriend him, to not love him. The kid, he calls all of you guys family… You’re the family he chose. And what’s more, you chose him. You took care of our only son. As far as I’m concerned, that makes you family to me and Inoue-chan, too.”

The words resonated with the group – it became clear where Ren’s sentimentality had come from, the words echoing his letter several months ago. Ann clasped Ren’s hand; Futaba, sniffling, hugged him from the other side.

Inoue smiled through some tears. “So… What kind of parents would we be if we sent him back to his old school? That old life is gone. True companions are very, very hard to come by. How could we separate him from friends like you?”

She continued, looking at Ann. “And Ann-chan… A mother can’t break her only son’s heart. I couldn’t deal with the moping. Just you promise me that when Ren comes home to visit, you’ll come too.” 

A pause for happy tears and laughter. Relief and joy, a bitter past drifting away, pushed away by the promise of a sweeter future.

>>>

Late at night, Ann stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She turned to her side, smiling giddily as she hugged her pillow to her chest, stifling a little giggle into the fabric.

_‘When was the last time I couldn’t sleep because I was too happy…?’_

She got up quietly, dressed in her usual Chococat pyjamas.

_‘I’ll get a glass of water or something.’_

The Phantom Thieves had free run of the inn; she could have used the actual kitchen where meals for guests were prepared. But, Ann felt more comfortable in the family quarters - it felt more welcoming, more lived in. And it reminded her of Ren. She wondered when so much of her happiness became tied up in the boxer. It wasn’t like she couldn’t function without him - she just really preferred not to. Since February, Ann had been spending as much time as possible with him... A mix of making up for time lost due to not only his incarceration, but due to the general insanity of being masked vigilantes.

So now, after learning he was coming home with them… her mind was wide awake, trying to process all the possibilities that were suddenly open to them.

She crept quietly into the family quarters, mindful of Mona sleeping under the kotatsu - his tail was sticking out, the white tip flicking back and forth as he dreamed. Ann got her glass of water. She started to leave, when she noticed light coming from under Ren’s door.

 _‘Guess he can’t sleep, either…’_ Ann thought. She walked over to his room, quietly nudging the door open.

Ren looked up; he was seated on his bed, legs crossed with a photo album open in front of him. He looked surprised, but smiled. He motioned with his hand to close the door.

Ann closed the door behind her; she took a seat beside him, kissing his cheek. “I couldn’t sleep.” She said, softly.

Ren nodded, slipping an arm around her. “I couldn’t either.”

“What are you doing?”

“Just looking at old photos.” Ren said, flipping the page. “I’ll probably scan these tomorrow so I can have copies with me in Tokyo.”

Ann nodded, running a finger over a picture of Ren and his parents on the beach. He couldn’t have been more than six years old. “Wildcard… are you sure this is okay? Aren’t you going to miss your parents and the Takedas?”

“I will.” Ren said. “I’d be lying if I said otherwise, Songbird. But this… this _feels_ right.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s true that I was happy, here.” Ren flipped the page, finding pictures of his first boxing tournament. “And being here this past week… some things haven’t changed at all. Like they’ve been frozen in time… Training with Coach was amazing. Helping to run the inn, spending time with my parents… It feels like putting on a comfortable old bathrobe.”

Ann smiled. “Your parents _are_ lovely. You’re a lot like your father.”

“You take that back.” Ren said, scoffing. His face broke into a smile, though. “...It’s true, though. I inherited almost all my inner-dork from him…”

Ann giggled softly, squeezing Ren’s hand.

“But comfortable isn’t always _good_ , you know?” Ren said, sighing. “I had a lot of time to think when I was in Fuchu and Tama. I realized I want to accomplish certain things, and I don’t think I can do it by being comfortable. Before everything with Shido happened, my life was passing by peacefully. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. At the time, it’s what I wanted. I was going to box, maybe professionally, maybe not. Either way, I was going to inherit and run the inn.”

“And what do you want, now?”

Ren glanced at Ann. “Don’t laugh?”

Ann shook her head. “I won’t.”

“The other night, when I was packing up for this trip, I was looking at the gloves you had Yamanaka-san sign for me.”

Ann smiled wryly. “That should have been my first clue that you were planning to come back to Tokyo. Those gloves are still hanging on the wall in the attic, aren’t they?”

Ren nodded. “Do you remember how he signed the gloves?”

Ann shook her head.

Ren smiled; he remembered word for word. “‘Nice right hook, Amamiya-kun. Hope to see you in the pro ring someday.’”

“So you want to go pro?” Ann asked.

“Maybe.” Ren said. He thought of the conversation he had with the enigmatic champion the day after receiving the signed gloves. “I think it’s more that I want to see how far boxing can take me. I want to see if it’s possible to resolve the contradictions.”

“Contradictions?”

“‘You are there to destroy each other. With the utmost respect. Tigers in the shape of men.’ It’s something that Yamanaka-san said. Boxing’s a sport where if you really respect what your opponent’s capable of, you put everything you can into taking him apart. But somehow, boxing’s supposed to bring out the best in you.” Ren said. “I don’t understand it. But I want to. I… I want to see the world from Mamoru Yamanaka’s point of view. He said he doesn’t completely understand it yet, either. But he’s closer than I am. I’m not sure if that means I need to be at the top of pro boxing, or amateur… I just know it means I need to find stronger opponents. I need to _not_ be comfortable.”

He blinked, as if slowly coming to a realization. He looked up at the posters lining one side of his bedroom, his eyes settling on Yamanaka.

“...I think I want to fight Mamoru Yamanaka on equal terms. I want to see if my potential will let me do that.”

Ann sighed. “...This is going to be a recurring theme for us, isn’t it?”

“What’s that?” Ren asked.

“I’m going to constantly be competing with Yamanaka-san to be the main object of your affection.” Ann stifled a laugh as Ren blushed; she poked his nose. “It’s fine, Wildcard. I think I get it. I used to think of modeling as something fun, a little part time job to make some extra cash. But when the results started to show from the training we were doing and I started getting calls for more serious jobs, I realized it could be so much more than that. You know, I actually got fan mail the other day? From a little girl, who said she looks up to me. Me!”

Ann shook her head with disbelief. “I mean… I want to see how far I can go, too. So I think I understand.” She smirked. “So I’ll try not to get too jealous of Yamanaka-san.”

“Heh. Thanks. ...Speaking of jealousy, sorry about Kana-chan, during the bouquet toss.”

Ann shrugged. “It’s fine. Though, I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t really cheer for me to catch the bouquet.”

“Hm? Oh, well. There wasn’t much point.”

Ann frowned. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“What color was the bouquet again?” Ren asked, innocently.

“...White?” Ann said, slowly, recalling the tattered white blossoms clutched in Kaname’s powerful little fist. She blinked. “...wait. Takemi-sensei’s bouquet was light pink, with the sakura blossoms. It was _almost_ white, but not actually.”

“Good eye, Songbird.” Ren said. He reached under his bed, pulling out the _actual_ bouquet. “Catch.”

Ann caught it as it was tossed gently to her; she stifled a gasp. “How…”

“A little sleight-of-hand, when I was greeting Takemi-sensei after the ceremony.” Ren said. “That’s why I took my coat off afterwards - I needed a place to hide this.”

Ann laughed quietly, still mindful of the hour despite her surprise. “Does it even count if you cheat like this, Wildcard?”

“The only superstition I’ve ever read is that the first unmarried girl to catch the bouquet is supposed to be the next one to get married.” Ren shrugged, before casting his trademark roguish smile at Ann. “There’s nothing that says anything about a detour before it reaches said girl’s hand.”

Ann raised the bouquet to her nose. Sakura weren’t known for their scent, true. But the bouquet still managed to carry a hint of the subtle, sweet fragrance of the flowers. She peered over the blossoms at Ren, her face growing warm at the sight of that crooked smile and the sparkle of grey eyes in the dim light.

“It’s still _kind_ _of_ cheating, you know.” Ann teased. “All those other girls were diving and fighting for a fake bouquet, and you just sat there with that little smirk.”

“So thoughtful, Songbird, to worry about other girls.” Ren’s smile softened. He leaned forward, carefully moving the bouquet aside. His hand felt warm on Ann’s cheek; she turned into his palm, her eyes drifting half-closed. “Remember what I said, on Valentine’s Day? I don’t mind if you’re greedy.”

“Mm…” Ann mumbled, her eyes closing entirely as she put the bouquet down on the nightstand. “Then you’d better spoil me, Wildcard.”

They kissed softly. It started that way, anyway. It was a familiar dance for them. The way he cradled her, laying her down on her back. The way she welcomed his weight on top of her, making her feel the sweet paradox of a racing pulse within the safety of his embrace. She slipped her hands under the long-sleeved t-shirt he used as a pyjama top, feeling the hard muscle of his chest and stomach.

Her quiet moan was muffled by a deep kiss as his upper thigh pressed pleasantly, maddeningly between her legs - as if she needed the reminder of what he could, what he would do for her.

Ann let herself sink back into the pillow. The bed was narrower than she was used to; just a double, but it was comfortable.

The comfortable bed.

In Ren’s room.

In his parents’ home.

His _parents_.

Ann’s eyes snapped wide open. She pushed Ren back, hissing in a hushed tone. “Ren! We _can’t_!”

Ren looked down at her; his forearms still formed a frame with which to trap the beautiful blonde girl under him. He smiled slightly, an amused twinkle in his eye. “Hm? Why’s that?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Your parents are just down the hall, aren’t they?” She slipped out from Ren’s embrace, sitting up. She smiled regretfully at Ren, kissing his cheek. “I’ll slip out and head back to my room. We’ve got plenty of time once we get back to Tokyo...”

She started to stand.

Ren’s hand caught her wrist, tugging her back down - onto his lap. He smirked against the skin of her neck; his other arm snaked around her waist. “Or you could stay.”

“That’s not really a good solution, Wildcard.” Ann said. She took hold of his hand, the one around her waist. “E..even if we’re quiet, what if they see me in the morning?”

“..Right now, I don’t really care.” Ren murmured, his breath was hot against the back of her ear; his voice, low and husky, sent a pleasurable _frisson_ down her spine; goosebumps made themselves known on her forearms.

Her hand, rather than prying his off her waist, instead just rested there. A little arch to her back, a settling of her hips against his groin as she sat in his laps, told the boxer that she was coming around to his point of view.

“I… I don’t know.” Ann mumbled, her other wrist twisting free of his hand so she could slip her hand over his neck, tangling her fingers in his unruly hair. She turned her face away from his mouth, accidentally-on-purpose exposing the graceful curve of her neck to him. She stifled a gasp as he bit her, not _quite_ hard enough to leave a mark. Her eyes turned glassy; the little arch to her back became more pronounced as her hips thrust back against the hardness she felt through the thin layers of fabric separating them.

“I’m sure you do...” Ren murmured, his dexterous fingers carefully undoing the buttons of her shirt. “..and if not, I’ll do as much convincing as you need.”

>>>

March 25, 20xx 

As the sun rose in Kamakura, light filtered in through Ren’s bedroom window. The gentle beam slowly reached the boxer’s eyes, gradually rousing him from his sleep. He found he wasn’t able to move the left side of his body particularly well; he was pinned comfortably to the double bed. He smiled even before he fully woke up.

Ann was draped over him, using his shoulder as a pillow; her blonde tresses were out of their usual twintails, cascading across his bare chest.

For a moment, Ren worried that this was another dream, like the one that the Grail tried to trap him in. His left arm, securely around the curve of her waist, gently squeezed her, as if trying to see how real the girl in his arms was.

She slowly woke up. She smiled at him with sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

“...I don’t care if this isn’t real.” Ren said, quietly.

Ann smiled. She moved to kiss his jaw before settling her head back down onto his shoulder.

“That’s sweet, Wildcard. But this is real.”

“How do you know?”

“If this was a dream, we wouldn’t have to figure out how I’m going to sneak out past your parents _and_ Mona.” Ann said, shaking her head slightly. She sighed, a hand going to her neck. “You’re such a cheater. You _know_ what that does to me.”

“I’m a thief and a boxer, remember? It’s in my nature to go after weak spots.” Ren said, smirking.

“Funny.” Ann sighed, getting comfortable. “...It’s pretty early, though. Maybe we have a little more time…”

“Mm. Getting you out of here seems to be a future Ren and Ann problem.”

“Hey, kid! Get your ass out of bed! We’re out of eggs, and we need to make breakfast for your friends, don’t we?”

Kenji’s steps thudded heavily down the hall towards Ren’s door.

“Apparently, the future is now.” Ren deadpanned.

Ann bolted upright to a seated position, clutching the sheets around her chest. She looked frantically for her pyjamas and underwear. “Now is not the time for jokes!” She hissed.

Ren shook his head. “Relax. He won’t burst in here, he’s--”

Mona started scratching at the door, meowing. “Hey, Ren! Can we get some more fish, too? There actually aren’t any leftovers from the wedding! Why did you close the door, anyway?”

“Jeez, kid. You got this cat, and you just lock him out? That’s pretty heartless. Here, Mona-chan, let me--”

Ren threw the covers over Ann. “Lie flat! Hold your breath!”

The door handle started to turn…

“Ken-san! We can get groceries ourselves, can’t we? Ren’s probably exhausted from the wedding. You saw how hard he worked.”

“Ah… Yeah. You’re probably right, Inoue-chan. But what about the cat, then?”

“We’ll take him with us!” Inoue said, brightly. “Mona-chan? Wouldn’t you like to come along? Some of the fishmongers might let you sample.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not like he can understand you--and he’s riding your shoulder. Wow. Heh.” Kenji said. “Ah, well. It’s settled, then. Hey, kid! Sorry to wake you. We’ll be back in a couple hours.”

Ann shoved the covers off her head; both her and Ren stared at his door, their hearts pounding until they heard the sounds of Ren’s parents (plus Mona) leaving the family quarters.

“Ah, that was close.” Ren sighed. “I don’t know how we would have expl--oof!”

Ann whalloped Ren with a pillow, laughing. “Seriously? ‘Lie flat! Hold your breath!’? You don’t think they wouldn’t have noticed an Ann-sized lump lying motionless between your body and the wall?”

Ren fought the pillow off, taking hold of Ann’s wrists. He pinned her back to the bed, grinning. “Best I could do under short notice.”

“Uh huh.” Ann said. She eyed Ren’s hands on her wrists. “You know, most people would take this miraculous reprieve as a chance to escape unscathed.”

“Well. They _did_ say they’d be gone for a couple hours.”

“Hm. Fair enough.” Ann said, smiling as Ren leaned in.

>>>

“That kid really has changed.” Kenji said, driving away from the inn. “Last year, he’d always be awake before us.”

Inoue shrugged, idly petting Mona as the cat rested on her lap. “Big city habits, maybe.”

Kenji laughed. “Hah. Our kid, a Tokyo bigshot. I’ll have to bug him about that later.” He smiled, looking at his wife. “You know, Inoue-chan, you didn’t have to get up. I don’t mind shopping on my own.”

Inoue raised an eyebrow. “Can’t I take the chance to spend some time with my husband? Or did you just want me to stay home so you can look for more useless gadgets?”

“Useless?! Come on. I manage to fix up and sell at least half of what I find, and the other half, I…”

Inoue only half-listened to Kenji’s good-natured rant, glancing back at the inn with a small, knowing smile.

>>>

The Phantom Thieves, Shiho, Yamada, and Ren’s parents gathered around the dining table, the area’s modular walls set so that the hall was a smaller room once again. It was a lively breakfast, as the team chatted about the wedding, what to do for their last day in Kamakura, and what to do for the second week of spring break, once they were back in Tokyo.

Ann only half-listened; she still felt somewhat self-conscious in the presence of Ren’s parents.

“Man, what a party, right?” Ryuji said, grinning. “Especially for Ann, right?!”

Ann gasped; her face immediately burned. “W-w-what’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I mean this guy, right here!” Ryuji said, punching Ren’s shoulder. “I bet he made your spring break last night, didn’t he?”

Ann had no words. Her eyes flitted to Ren’s parents, to Ryuji, and back to Ren.

Ren was nonplussed. He just smiled slightly.

Ryuji continued, laughing. “Come on, don’t be coy. You know! He’s coming back with us! You’ve been moping for the past week. And now look at you! You’re like, _glowing_.”

“Y-yeah. That’s it.” Ann mumbled. “Or the sea air, or the home cooking…”

Shiho raised an eyebrow. A gleeful little smile spread across her lips.

Ann caught that look, recognizing it immediately: Shiho Suzui smelled blood.

“It’s true. Blondie’s really had a _hard_ time with everything.” Shiho said, shrugging. She deftly dodged a kick under the table from Ann. “I mean, she’s really _wanted_ Ren… ...to stay in Tokyo.”

“Yeah. Speaking of that, kid. Who are you going to box with in Tokyo?” Kenji asked.

“Oh. An old friend of Coach Takeda’s. Tetsuya Shinoda.” Ren said.

Ann felt profound relief. Prematurely.

Shiho nodded. “Yep. And the champ installed a punching bag in the attic above Leblanc, too. So he’s just been _pounding_ away in the attic. A _lot_.”

Ann sighed. It was going to be a long day.

>>>

March 26, 20xx 

The last day in Kamakura passed by quickly; before they knew it, they were loading up the van on Sunday morning, preparing for the drive back to Tokyo.

Ann and Ren were the last to get in the van, standing outside the vehicle with Kenji and Inoue.

Kenji smiled proudly at his son. “Make sure you take care of her, kid. And make sure you take care of yourself, too.”

“I will.” Ren said, smiling back. He stepped forward, apparently for an embrace.

Kenji narrowly avoided the sucker punch.

Ren jumped over the leg sweep.

The two grinned; they exchanged a hard, brief hug.

“I’ll miss you, oya-ji. Don’t die before I come home.”

“I won’t miss you, kid. Not until you do something about that attitude.”

Ann rolled her eyes at the pair before hugging Inoue. “Thanks for everything, kaa-chan.”

Inoue wiped at her eyes. “Remember what I said, Ann-chan. When Ren visits, make sure to come with him?”

Ann smiled. “I will.”

Inoue then turned to hug her son, before holding him by his shoulders. She looked at him from head to toe, shaking her head slightly. “You’ve grown so much…”

“Well, I did go up a weight class…”

“Not what I meant, Ren.” Inoue said, sighing. “I’ll miss you. We all will. When I told Kana-chan, she--”

Ren blinked. “Wait. You told Kana-chan? _When?”_

Inoue blinked. “...I told her as soon as we made arrangements to have you continue at Shujin. Weeks ago. She hasn’t mentioned it?”

Ren felt a chill down his spine; a cold wind against the back of his neck. The fact that she _hadn’t_ mentioned it made it worse. He gently separated himself from his mother, speaking with a strangely calm voice. “Kaa-chan, oya-ji. _Ittekimasu_.”

Inoue nodded. “ _Itterasshai_ , Ren.”

Ren took a step back. He then shoved Ann towards the van, yelling. “Songbird, get in the van! Makoto, start the engine! Get it rolling! We need to leave. _NOW!_ ”

Haru blinked. “Ren-kun? What’s the problem?”

Makoto frowned, looking at Ren. “Everyone needs to buckle up first. I can’t just speed off like that, this isn’t the Meta… ...verse…”

She trailed off as her eyes went back to the road.

Kaname was approaching the van from the front, pulling a rolling suitcase behind her. The petite girl had her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, bangs neatly framing her deceptively angelic face. She wore a very familiar looking outfit:

A black blazer with red buttons, over a white shirt that was adorned with a small black bow at the neck. This was accompanied by a black skirt with a tartan pattern and a black book bag with dark grey straps.

And to top all of this off, the Shujin Academy crest was emblazoned proudly on both the blazer and the bag.

Kaname stopped in front of Ren, who stood shock-still in front of the sliding door of the van. Ann was partly in, halfway through the process of being shoved into the vehicle by Ren. They both stared blankly at Kaname.

Kaname beamed at Ren.

“Going my way, Renpai?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is always how I envisioned Ren getting back to Tokyo with everyone else. It sets up a few things - him continuing on with the Shujin boxing club, working towards a college career. Meeting Ann's parents, etc. In the original version of this, Inoue lets the cat out of the bag as well, but it happens on the first night in Kamakura.
> 
> In this case, there was a wedding to worry about.
> 
> As for the wedding, I'm not Japanese (as I always say, I'm just three moogles stacked up in a trenchcoat) so I'm not as up to date on the customs. So I fell back onto the common things found in Western weddings.
> 
> If I get around to Ren and Ann, I'll likely research it a bit better. In this case, it served as a frame for the gang to work around.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Sorry if it's a bit rough - week's shaping up to be hectic, so it's either post now and edit as I see things, or wait until the weekend (or even next weekend) and I don't have the patience :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third year starts; the gang starts adjusting to normal civilian life again. Ren starts boxing competitively again, and the Shujin Boxing Team gets its official start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... no apologies for the gratuitous amount of ShuAnn in this. It's an epilogue for a reason.
> 
> hikikomori: Shut-in  
> luchador: Mexican wrestler  
> Shohei Otani: The only Japanese pitcher to record a 100mph-plus fastball  
> onii-tan: *obnoxiously* cute way to say big brother

April 1, 20xx 

“Oink-oink! Oink-oink! Oink-oin--”

Ren’s hand smacked the top of P-chan, turning off the obnoxious alarm clock. He slowly propped himself up on his elbows, blearily looking at the time.

_‘0600… Ugh. ...It’s just the opening ceremony today, homeroom, and then club sign-ups. I have to be there for the boxing club in the afternoon. Maybe I’ll just skip the morning, though.’_

He flopped back down, snoring face-first into his pillow.

Mona meowed, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, Ren? I don’t get you. When you’re on vacation, you wake up bright and early to train for boxing. But when you have school, you’re like a different person.”

Ren waved a hand. “That’s because boxing is awesome. School is school.” He mumbled.

“You’re supposed to take Futaba to school today, aren’t you?”

Ren waved a hand again, not bothering to raise his head. “If she _really_ needs me to escort her, she’ll come and get me. That means I can sleep for another twenty minutes, probably…” 

Mona sighed, grooming himself. “Or she’s digging in her heels just as much as you, and you’re _both_ going to end up late. And then Boss will be mad at all three of us.”

“He’ll live.”

Mona cat-smirked. “Well… You know what Kaname would say to you sleeping in--”

Ren was on his feet in a flash, already halfway across the attic with his toothbrush and other toiletries in hand. “You know on second thought, why don’t we get the year started off right? ‘Early rising benefits you three pence’ and all that.”

Mona rolled his eyes. “I thought so.”

>>>

 _Some day, when I'm awfully low_ _  
__And the world is cold_  
 _I will feel a glow just thinking of you_ _  
_And the way you look tonight

Ann reached over with a little smile, turning off her phone’s alarm. It was nice, waking up to the sound of her boyfriend’s voice and the gentle tone of the Yamaha piano at Crossroads. During their last few days off, she had managed to convince him to let her make the recording. All it had taken was a little pout and a winsome _‘please_ , Wildcard’?

She would have felt a little bad if it weren’t for the fact that she knew he enjoyed being manipulated like that.

Ann slipped out of bed, going through her usual morning routine to get ready for school. She could already hear Bachan in the kitchen, making breakfast. Her parents did promise to be around more often this year, but they wouldn’t be returning for a few more weeks, yet.

_‘Probably for the best. Still need to figure out how to tell Ren about Daddy…’_

She stood at the vanity of her bathroom, doing the usual cleanse-tone-moisturize, followed by her usual ‘day-to-day’ makeup. Contrary to popular belief about the blonde model, the number of products she owned was relatively few - over the years, she had become exacting and efficient with what she used, getting rid of the chaff quickly. This routine was as set as Ren’s training.

She did pause at her hair, though, twirling a lock around her finger. She glanced back at her uniform, just behind her. She frowned slightly, considering her options. There had been some changes to uniform regulations for both the boys and girls - it was part of the effort to show the public that Shujin Academy was making efforts to recover from the scandals of the previous year. That included a crackdown on uniform customization and some minor changes to enhance ‘professionalism’.

She smirked slightly at her reflection.

_‘...Well. Might as well have a little fun with this.’_

>>>

“Futaba? You’re going to be late. Ren’s waiting for you.” Sojiro called, knocking on her door.

Futaba sighed, staring at her image on her computer screen. The orange-haired girl didn’t have an actual mirror in her room - being a _hikikomori_ , she never really saw the point of caring about her appearance that much. But now, technically, she was a _former_ hikikomori. As evidenced by the Shujin uniform she now wore. She frowned, tugging at the sleeves of the blazer. It was the smallest size they had available, apparently, but the cuffs still almost enveloped her hands.

She glanced back at the door at another knock from Sojiro.

Reluctantly, she picked up her headphones and put them on.

_‘Can I really do this…?’_

Her phone buzzed.

**RA: Hey, Gremlin. Remember what I said, last year? About choices.**

_‘Up until now, you’ve felt the way you’ve felt because someone manipulated you. No matter what you choose today… at least you finally get to choose.’_

Futaba smiled - that was it. She did promise Kana she would start going to school again. And she told Sojiro and Ren, too. That was all _her_ choice. No one was feeding her lies anymore, warping her cognition. No one was making her feel like the only thing she could do was stay inside and wait to die.

This was her life for the taking.

Resolved, she moved to the door.

In the hallway, Sojiro looked at Ren, shaking his head. “I don’t know, kid. Maybe you should get going. If she comes out, I can drive her--”

The door slammed open.

“Ah, nevermind. There she is… Ren, why are you laughing--”

Sojiro turned around.

Futaba stood there, her hands on her hips, wearing her uniform - plus an elaborate _luchador_ mask. She yelled (slightly muffled).

“I’m all fired up! Let’s do this!”

>>>

“Daaaay~um, Blondie.” Shiho intoned, catching sight of her best friend at the Aoyama-Itchome station. “Almost didn’t recognize you.”

Ann flashed a brilliant smile at Shiho - nearby, someone walked into a pillar at the sight, cursing. The blonde model had changed her look. The new uniform regulations meant she couldn’t get away with the hoodie anymore - at least, until the teachers grew tired of trying to enforce the previously lax rules. So now, she wore the standard issue blazer and skirt, but still pushed the boundaries as far as she could. Rather than the odd ribbon-adorned turtleneck, she went with a button-down white shirt, the top button popped to reveal the ‘Wildcard Ring’, as she started calling it, on a silver choker. She kept the red leggings and boots.

But the most striking difference was her hair. She wore it in a stylishly-tousled ponytail, with loose locks of her blonde tresses framing her face perfectly. Combined with the uniform, it created a more mature look. Before, in her hoodie and twintails, she was cute and pretty. Now, she was elegant and _sexy_.

“Champ’s going to have a heart attack.” Shiho said, shaking her head. She sipped her coffee, eyeing Ann. She started to smirk.

Ann rolled her eyes. “ _What_ , Shiho?”

“This isn’t because of Kana-chan, is it?” Shiho grinned.

“No!” Ann snapped. She blushed, as Shiho kept staring. “...A little. Maybe.”

During the entire trip back from Kamakura, Kaname regaled the team with stories from her and Ren’s shared childhood. Trips to the ocean, learning to box together… _Sleepovers_ together. Of course, all of that stopped fairly early on in elementary school - but even afterward, it seemed the girl had frequent and easy access to Ren’s home and room. And through the entire ride back, the violet-haired spitfire danced around the question of where exactly she was going to be staying while going to school in Tokyo.

Instead, she gleefully twisted the knife over and over by dropping hints about staying with Ren, or at the Sakura house in Yongen, until she asked Makoto to drop her off at the Shinoda household. She was actually going to be staying with the family of Shinji Takeda’s old friend (and the man who was going to take over as Ren’s head coach) - Tetsuya Shinoda.

Ann grumbled. “I know she doesn’t have any intention of breaking us up… But if she’s going to torture me like that…”

“Yeah, I know. You’re going to want to flex on her a bit, huh?” Shiho laughed. “Ah. Speak of the devil…”

“Good morning!” Kaname chirped, popping up spritely beside Ann and Shiho. She beamed at the two. “I guess I should be calling you both ‘senpai’ now? Oh. Speaking of that, where’s Renpai?”

Ann sighed. Kaname really _was_ cute, when she wanted to be. “He’s going to be a few minutes late. Something about having to peel a luchador mask off of Futaba-chan…”

Shiho snorted.

Kaname studied Ann, eyeing her head to toe. She pouted slightly, crossing her arms as she looked away.

Ann smirked.

“Oh, hey. There you are.”

Ann brightened, turning - it was Ren. She spotted Futaba first. “Ah! Futaba-chan, you look great! ...Why are you blushing like that--...”

Ann, Kaname, and Shiho openly gawked at Ren. The cause for the blushing.

The boxer was wearing the new standard issue uniform for the boys attending Shujin Academy. The blazer and pants were the same design. The turtleneck was gone though, replaced by a white shirt and a black tie. A small change, meant to look a little more professional than the previous uniform. But it was _how_ Ren was wearing it. He filled the shoulders out just a little better, now. As for the shirt, he popped the collar, and left the tie just loosely on.

And best (or worst, depending on whether the beholder wanted him to be noticed in that way) of all, the glasses were gone.

“Morning.” Ren said, casually, seemingly unaware of the effect he was having. “We should get going? We’re going to be late, thanks to Gremlin, here.” He patted her head, smiling. Futaba squeaked, hiding behind Ann.

Mona meowed, from his usual spot. “Yeah! Don’t you guys have to see what classes you’re in, too? You’d better get moving!”

Ren sighed, poking Mona’s nose. “You’re still not supposed to be here, remember? Back in the bag.”

“Oh, come on. People saw me all year last year, including that guy sitting _right_ behind you, and no one said a thing.”

“Yeah, but that guy also ignored the lockpick making, and all the other stuff...” Ren replied, walking towards Shujin. He was apparently oblivious of the looks he was getting from several other students - mostly disbelief, as they started to recognize who he was without the glasses. But also looks of interest from girls, and not just the ones daring enough to want to date a ‘convict’. It helped of course that his record was now widely known as cleared - while he wasn’t ever officially identified as a Phantom Thief, Sae and Kawakami had taken steps to ensure that it was known that Ren Amamiya was another unfortunate victim of Masayoshi Shido’s ego.

So even during the last months of second year, people had warmed up to him.

Now, with the new look…

Kaname frowned. “He’s returned to form. Should have kept the glasses… what happened to them, anyway?”

Shiho looked at Ann, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, Blondie. What happened to them?”

_A resounding slap echoed across the small café, followed by the sound of his battered fake glasses shattering into a million pieces against the wall. Ren staggered, his cheek stinging from the open-handed blow he had received. The gathered friends stared in open-mouthed shock._

Ann cringed. “Er… No idea-- Futaba, no!”

Futaba was showing Kaname the animated gif of Ren having his glasses slapped off his face.

Kaname rolled her eyes at Ann; the girls quickly trailed after Ren.

>>>

They reconvened after opening ceremonies in front of the bulletin boards where the class lists were posted.

Ren trailed his finger down the list. “1B… Amamiya, Sakamoto, Suzui, and Takamaki! Four for four.” He turned, grinning at Ann. “Great, right?... Songbird?”

Ann blinked, looking up. “Hm? Oh, r-right…”

She was a little disappointed in Ren’s outright lack of reaction to _her_ new look. She _knew_ she looked good, from the jealous stares of girls directed at her and from the jealous stares of boys directed at Ren. But she didn’t really care what anyone else thought (beyond Kaname, anyway - she still wanted to stick it to Ren’s ‘little sister’ a bit). She only cared what a certain boxer thought.

Ren frowned. “Haven’t seen Ryuji around yet, though.”

Futaba and Kaname approached.

“Are you guys in the same class?” Ren asked.

Futaba shook her head. “No. I got 3A. Kaname’s in 3B.”

“Ah. At least you’re right next to each other.” Ren said. “We’ll see you after homeroom--”

Kaname frowned. “Can’t you take us there, Renpai?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “You’ll be fine. It’s right over--geh.”

The noise the blonde made was at the simultaneous pleading look that Kaname and Futaba shot at the boxer. For Futaba’s part, it was probably genuine. Though, the girl _had_ learned of Sojiro’s susceptibility to capitulating at being called anything ‘dad’-like. And Ren wasn’t much better.

“Please? Ren-ni.”

“Yeah, Renpai. Please?”

Ren glanced back at Ann.

Ann looked at Futaba - she really did want her to get off to a good start, Kaname’s games notwithstanding.

“Let’s go, Wildcard. We should drop them off.”

>>>

They left Kaname behind at 3B, pausing now outside of Futaba’s classroom. 

Futaba peeked inside; the room was empty, save the homeroom teacher standing at the front. She was a young bespectacled woman in her twenties. Futaba quickly ducked as the teacher looked towards the door; the orange-haired hacker looked back at Ren and Ann, uncertain.

“You’ll be fine, Gremlin.” Ren said, patting her head. “Just be yourself. If that doesn’t work, they weren’t worth getting to know anyway.”

Ann nodded. “Text us if you need anything, okay? Ryuji’s going to be around, too. And Kana-chan’s next door. If the scariest person in the school is already on your side, what do you have to be afraid of?”

Futaba started to laugh at that - she hadn’t been present at the training camp last year. Both Ren and Ann looked at Futaba with expressions that said ‘I know why you’re laughing, but this isn’t a joke.’ Futaba bit her lip briefly, and then nodded firmly, a gallant expression on her face.

“Ann and Ren have left the party. But Futaba’s levelled up!”

Ren chuckled. “That’s the spirit.” He reached over, taking off her headphones. “Here. Stuff these in your bag until you figure out what kind of homeroom teacher you have. I don’t want to have to pick a lock on my first day just to get them back for you.”

The three of them walked in; Futaba flanked by her two third-year friends.

The homeroom teacher looked up with a friendly smile. “Ah. I thought I saw someone peeking in.” Her glasses were remarkably similar to Futaba’s. “Futaba Sakura, I presume? I’m Mizuho Toyama, your homeroom teacher.”

Futaba instinctively ducked behind Ren and Ann.

Ren sighed, stepping to the side. Futaba matched him, step-for-step. Ann smiled, gently dragging Futaba out.

Futaba eyed the teacher suspiciously. “How did you know who I am?”

Toyama, to her credit, didn’t look too off-put. “Your father called ahead yesterday. He wanted to make sure you got a good start and mentioned you’d probably be escorted by Amamiya-san and Takamaki-san.”

“Ah. Okay. That’s convenient. Nice to meet you, then!” Futaba suppressed her suspicious glare. _‘A little_ **_too_ ** _convenient. I’ll have to have Mona say ‘pancakes’ around her and see what happens.’_

Toyama looked at Ren and Ann curiously. “It’s a little unusual that third-years would escort a first-year in like this.” She smiled, a little teasingly. “It’s like you’re concerned parents.”

Futaba barely registered Ann’s pleased/embarrassed denials anymore; she was too busy watching the other first-year students filing in. They seemed a little confused at seeing the two third-year students leaving their class. As they left, Ann’s hand quickly found Ren’s, the two of them making their way back to the first floor.

Futaba found her assigned seat, arranging her things before immediately pulling out her phone.

**FS: I’m sitting down.**

**AT: That’s… good?**

**FS: At a desk. At actual school.** (Mindblown.gif)

**MN: Oh, good! You made it!**

**FS: Don’t say it like you’re surprised! I raised you better than that.**

**MN: I still don’t understand why you say that, I’m 2 years your senior…**

**FS: Don’t you talk back to me!**

**HO: I’m glad you’re doing well, Futaba-chan!**

**YK: To be fair, we do not know that she is doing well, yet. She just sat down.**

**RS: futaba’s got this. high school is tough but so is she**

**RA: The hell would you know about high school being hard, slacker? You’re not even in class yet.**

**RS: im already sitting down!**

**SS: Uh, RyuRyu. The three of us are in your class this year, and we’re all here… Sure you’ve got the right spot?**

**RS: oh shit im sitting in my class from last year!**

**RA: That’s fair. You assumed you’d be repeating.**

**RS: whaddya mean ‘that’s fair’?! dont let them lock the door im coming!**

**AT: lol**

Futaba chuckled to herself before noticing that two of her classmates were finding their seats beside her. One girl, tall and slender with her black hair held back by a barrette, introduced herself with a friendly wave. “Hi! I’m Tomoko Yoshida.”

“And I’m Kaoru Iwai.” The boy with short black hair nodded, taking his seat.

“Er… R-right! Hi! I’m Futaba Sakura.”

Tomoko smiled, sitting at the desk beside Futaba. “Looks like the three of us are going to be sitting together!”

Futaba nodded. “Looks like…”

Kaoru grinned excitedly. “Hey, Sakura-san, was that Amamiya-senpai that dropped you off? With Takamaki-senpai?”

Futaba nodded slowly, uncertain of where this was going. She was nothing if not protective of her friends - in particular, Ren, and the person he held so dear in his heart.

Kaoru leaned forward, rapidly firing questions at Futaba without giving her time to answer.

“That’s way cool! How do you know them? I know Amamiya-senpai through my dad. Is it true that Amamiya-senpai is going to get back into boxing on the inter-high circuit? And that the boxing club’s going to be recruiting? Do you think he’d let me join?! Does Takamaki-senpai go to all the practices?!--ouch!”

Tomoko lowered her hand, after having just flicked her friend’s ear.

“Kaoru, we’ve been over this. People can’t answer you if you keep firing off questions like that. And if you don’t get your ass off the computer, how are you going to become a boxer?” The black-haired girl smirked. “And do you really think it’s healthy for you to be so obviously crushing on your idol’s girlfriend?”

“Er…”

Futaba tilted her head. “Computer…?”

“Oh, yeah! I play DOTA. A _little_.” Kaoru said, sheepishly.

“Right. Like a little _all the time_.” Tomoko said. “How much money have you spent on upgrades? I’m getting tired of installing your—”

Futaba smiled eagerly. “Who do you main? And what kind of rig are you running?”

>>>

“So, RenRen. How does it feel to be replaced?” Ryuji grinned at his best friend, who was currently seated at the boxing team’s table in the gymnasium - there was a buzz in the room with a multitude of others sporting clubs and teams actively recruiting, now that they were no longer stymied by Kamoshida.

Ren looked across the gym, where Futaba was wandering around beside two new friends, apparently. A tall black haired girl and Kaoru Iwai.

“I’m alright with it. Kaoru's a good kid, you know that. More importantly, how are you doing? Now that Makoto’s off to university.” Ren asked. “It’s like you two barely got to enjoy having your high school romance, with all the stuff that happened last year.”

Ryuji sighed. “Ah… I’ll miss seeing her around here, y’know? But Makoto and I still spend a lot of time together. It’s weird, though. She just moved out, and she’s been asking me if I want to see her apartment. But there’s nothing to do in that part of town, so I keep suggesting we keep our dates elsewhere. She doesn’t look completely happy about it, though.”

Ren and Shou, one of the former delinquents and current boxers, exchanged glances.

Ren coughed, turning back to Ryuji. “So. You don’t see the possible perks of being invited to Makoto’s place, where she lives alone, in a part of town where there’s _nothing_ to do other than visiting her apartment?”

Ryuji blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Ah. Poor aneki.” Shou muttered, trying not to snicker.

Ren shrugged, barely suppressing his laugh also. “Heh. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, Ryuji, shouldn’t you be helping the track team recruit members?”

Ryuji eyed the gym critically. “Not much point. There’s so many clubs in here that just having me stand up and wave flyers isn’t really gonna do much. Lots of people are trying to get going again now that Kamoshida’s gone.”

“Yeah. We’re having trouble, too.” Shou sighed. He idly bounced a tennis ball on the table. “Looks like it’ll just be aniki and the rest of us again. Most of us are graduating this year, too… It’ll be hard for the club to keep going after this year, at this rate.”

“Ah, that’s right.” Ryuji said. “If you guys don’t get some first and second years, the club’s done…”

“People just don’t really think about boxing as an option.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Things like soccer and basketball will always be bigger.”

Ryuji looked out at the crowd, then back at Ren. “...you know, RenRen. You forgot about your superpower.” He snatched the tennis ball out of the air from Shou before grinning at Ren. “Go long, dude!”

>>>

Ann, Shiho, and Kaname headed for the gym to check out the sports teams and clubs.

“So is there even a volleyball team this year, Shiho?”

“There is, Blondie.” Shiho sighed, before shaking off the momentary melancholy and putting on a determined face. “The school didn’t think it was fair to punish the students who wanted to keep going. But it’ll be tough to get enough interest to really be serious about it. All the incoming first-years will know about what happened. But, my knee is fully rehabbed and I want to play again. I don’t even care if we win. I just want to make sure we all have enough fun to at least _start_ making up for last year.”

“I’m really glad Renpai punched that Kamoshida guy.” Kaname grumbled.

“Which clubs are you going to join, Kana-chan?” Ann looked at the petite girl curiously.

Kaname gave Ann a friendly smile. “You’re looking at the boxing club’s new manager! I’ll be spending _lots_ of time around Renpai.”

Her smile only grew, becoming _too_ friendly.

“Is that so…” Ann said, rolling her eyes. “You know that I’m Ren’s most frequent training partner, right?”

“So is _that_ what you’re calling it?” Shiho winked at Ann.

“Not helping, Shiho.”

“Not trying to, Ann.”

The girls playfully shoved at each other, laughing. It was nice, being at school without a cloud hanging over their heads. No Kamoshida, no Phantom Thieves, no incarcerated Ren, no imminently moving away Ren.

Kaname sighed, sounding uncharacteristically concerned. She stretched, lacing her fingers together behind her neck. “Still… I’m a little worried. From what Renpai and Yamada said, boxing was never big here even before that Kamoshida guy killed all the other sports clubs. It’ll be hard to get the numbers to field an actual team… ...What’s that noise? Is club day here usually this crazy?”

As they approached the gym, there was an audible din coming from the open doors. The three girls looked inside.

There was a large congregation of students around one table, with an extremely skewed ratio of female to male students. Around the gym, male students glared enviously at the gaggle of girls, the majority of whom were first-year students looking for a club or team to join.

“The hell…?” Kaname muttered, eyeing the group. “I think the boxing club’s table is supposed to be in there.”

A bright green tennis ball bounced out of the crowd.

Shiho and Ann exchanged glances. Shiho looked extremely amused; Ann, not so much.

Ann clenched her fist. “Freaking Sakamoto... I know what this is.”

The ball was clumsily followed by one Ren Amamiya. He lunged for it - the ball squirted away from him. He gamely lunged after it again, to the amused giggles of the watching students. This was, of course, one of things Reiko told Ann about last year. Despite his athleticism, he still retained an incredible skills gap in ball and disc sports.

Ann stepped on it, her boot putting an end to Ren’s oddly-endearing attempt to corral the fuzzy green ball. She facepalmed, a vein at her temple throbbing mildly in irritation as Ren, kneeling at her feet, peered up at her with a happy smile.

“Hey, Songbird! Glad you could make it! Looks like we’ll be able to field a team!”

“Ren…” Ann began, a thin smile on her face. “Where’s Ryuji…?”

“Hey, RenRen! Come on, hurry back! A few more want to sign up, but they want you to promise to teach them--” Ryuji burst out from the crowd, grinning. His smile immediately evaporated on seeing Ann. “...You know, I can hear the guys at the track team table calling me. Gotta go!”

As he turned to run, Ann picked up the tennis ball, winding up for a heater of Shohei Otani proportions. She let fly - the tennis ball spiked into Ryuji right between his shoulder blades, sending him tumbling _over_ the track team’s table.

“Huh. Didn’t know he did hurdling, too.” Shiho shrugged. She looked over at the crowded table thoughtfully. “You know, Champ, I bet we could get even more signups.”

“Really?” Ren perked up. “How? It would be pretty handy. Usually with this sort of thing, the rate of attrition is pretty high.”

Kaname glared balefully at the girls, who were still sending furtive glances Ren’s way. “I’ll make _sure_ of that.”

“I’d appreciate anything you could do, Shiho.” Ren beamed.

Someone nearby may have swooned at the sight of the boxer’s innocently happy smile. Ren was entirely oblivious to that - and to Ann’s growing irritation. He was in full ‘boxing idiot’ mode. Shiho pulled both Ann and Kaname aside. Ren watched curiously as they spoke. Shiho grinned in a distinctly Puck-ish manner, gesturing at the crowd, and then the students standing around the periphery.

Ann looked even more annoyed; Kaname looked strangely thoughtful before nodding. Ann seemed surprised before Kaname seemed to give Ann a challenging look and a sly smile.

“Hey! Aniki! We need you back here for a sec!” Shou yelled, waving from the table.

Ren wandered back, making conversation with two first-years who seemed to be more interested in him than boxing - but of course, Ren didn’t let that dissuade him, eagerly describing basic combinations and footwork.

“And then a one-two—“

- _thud-_

Ren was surprised as his right was skillfully caught by a hitting mitt.

Kaname stood in front of him; she had changed into the Shujin physical education uniform. She smiled cutely at Ren. “Nice hit, onii~tan~!”

“Kana-chan? The hell did you just call me—“

“Don’t be silly, onii-tan! Aren’t you going to keep demonstrating? It’s my duty to help as the _team manager_ that _everyone’s_ going to be spending so much time with if they join the club!”

Ren kept hitting. “Is this really necessary?” He asked, as he worked the mitts.

“It is, unless you’re trying to have a harem anime type situation.” Kaname said, sourly. She immediately spoke again, in an excessively perky voice to draw a few more potential recruits. “Kyaa~! You’re hitting so _hard_!”

Ren grimaced. “Who actually says ‘kyaa’?! You’re starting to make me uncomfortable…”

“Ah… then don’t look over at Ann. You won’t like that very much either.”

Ren of course, looked over at Ann. She too had changed into the PE outfit; she had tied a knot into the hem of the t-shirt, tightening it around her body and accentuating her physique. It looked like she even touched up her makeup a little. She smiled, chatting up a few interested male students, directing them to Shou at the table.

“That’s not like her…”

“I _may_ have provoked her a little, Renpai.” Kaname shrugged. “I told her how I’d happily help recruit, even if she didn’t want to.”

“That’s _all_ you said?” Ren was extremely skeptical.

“I might have said that I’d happily take all your gratitude, too.”

“Kana-chan…” Ren frowned, watching as Ann passed by, assuring two very love struck underclassmen that she’d be training with the team whenever she could.

“Oh, don’t fuss over it. We need the fresh meat— I mean, numbers.” Kaname said, in her usual voice. She perked up again as a few more interested underclassmen came by, speaking in a teasing tone. “Keep punching, onii-tan! I didn’t say you could have a break, did I?”

Ren wasn’t fooled. He looked at the newcomers with profound sympathy as Kaname’s smile took on a slightly sadistic gleam.

>>>

Ann glanced sidelong at Ren as they walked together to the boxing club’s room. Each of them carried a box of things from the successful club recruitment drive; Ren had volunteered them both to pack up. She barely listened as he chatted, talking about how the first inter-high tournament was coming up in just under a month. Instead, she suppressed a little sigh.

Truthfully it hadn’t taken much manipulation on Kaname’s part to get Ann to participate in recruiting for the club. Throughout the entire day, Ren hadn’t seemed affected at all by her new look. She wanted to help out the club - it was important to Ren, after all - but she was also hoping he’d take notice of the way she looked. In particular, how she looked chatting up smitten underclassmen. It wasn’t that Ann was insecure - she knew how the boxer felt about her. Still, though…

 _‘It would have been nice if he acted a_ **_little_ ** _jealous…’_ Ann grumbled.

“Songbird? You say something?” He smiled at her as he put down his box.

Ann smiled back. She didn’t really want to bother him about something like this. He was so happy about the club. “Nope! Nothing.”

“Ah, okay.”

Ann started putting the contents of her box away, glancing at Ren as he put his own box down and started closing the windows and shutting the blinds of the room.

“Kana-chan seems really fired up about the club.”

“She’s eager to show Coach that she can independently handle the job of a head trainer.” Ren closed the last of the blinds, heading to the door. “Back in Kamakura, she was the cutman for both the highschool team and for Takeda Boxing, but Coach was the de facto head. Here, the team’s faculty advisor is still Kawakami, who doesn’t know much about boxing. Coach Shinoda’s going to advise and help out, but he has a pretty big stable of pros to worry about. So this is really on me and Kana-chan.”

“Oh. It’s good to know she isn’t just trying to annoy me.” Ann said.

“Annoy you how?”

Ann frowned, putting some gloves away. Was Ren really that oblivious? “She was getting pretty clingy with you. And then all those other girls…”

_-click-_

Ren stood at the now-locked door, turning to face Ann. To the blonde, his smile took on a familiar character; his grey eyes seemed darker. The sight took her back to a hotel room in Kapolei in the middle of a stormy night. She realized now why he’d sent everyone else ahead, why he volunteered both himself and Ann to clean up. Why he closed the windows and blinds.

“What about those other girls…?” He asked, stepping closer to her.

“I… you were just letting them fawn all over you.” Ann wet her lips; her heart skipped a beat.

“So you were jealous?” He took another step towards her.

“A… a little.” Ann stammered. The back of her thighs bumped into the apron of the ring, surprising her. How had she gotten there?

“You shouldn’t be.” Ren closed the distance slowly. His voice took on a note similar to a low growl. Heat rose to Ann’s cheeks, the back of her neck. She casually untied the knot in the hem of her shirt as surprise turned into anticipation.

“And why shouldn’t I be…?” She asked, almost a purr.

“Have you _seen_ you?” Ren kissed her, immediately deep, immediately passionate. “You’ve been driving me crazy from this morning…”

Ann gasped; he bit her neck, not bothering to ask about any upcoming shoots. She shoved at his blazer, forcing it off his shoulders. “You… Ah… you have a funny way of showing it, Wildcard.”

“You’re a professional model. If I freaked out every time you looked beautiful, or every time a guy looked at you… It would be the fireworks festival all over again.” Ren murmured, now tenderly kissing at the place where he bit. The gentleness of it was in stark contrast to how his body pinned her against the apron of the ring.

“If I recall correctly, that ended pretty well.” Ann kissed him, her tongue wrestling with his briefly, her fingers combing through his raven locks. “So… why are you acting so possessive _now_?”

“It turns out I’ve learned to deal with men looking at you… I don’t think I’ll ever handle you looking at anyone else.” He abruptly lifted her up by the waist, placing her on the apron of the ring. He started feathering kisses on her neck again. “Even if it was just acting for a good cause.”

Ann held his head, arching her back to press her chest into him. “Mm… I _was_ trying to make you a little jealous.”

“You made me a _lot_ jealous.” Ren growled, burying his face into her shirt, into the valley between her breasts. He hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of her pants.

She yelped in surprise as he pulled sharply at her track pants and underwear. “You’re being so rough…!”

At that, Ren paused. He leaned back. “Sorry, I didn’t—“

Ann grabbed his tie, hauling him in for a sudden kiss. An unexpected benefit to the change in the uniform regulations. As she did so, she squirmed out of her clothes before working on the fly of his pants.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want that, Wildcard. We made each other jealous. So why don’t we spend some time making sure we don’t need to feel that way…?”

>>>

April 15, 20xx 

Ren worked out Saturday after class, in the boxing club’s room.

 _‘Boxing_ **_team_ ** _.’_ Ren thought, correcting himself. They were an official team now. Next week, Ren, Shou, and Eiji were going to represent Shujin in the welterweight, lightweight, and bantamweight classes, respectively. The newcomers were still too fresh to join the inter-high circuit.

Sweat beaded on the boxer’s forehead as he bench pressed. He was training alone despite the fact that the rest of the team was present - far fewer than they had at the first practice. True to Kaname’s word, the little ball of hate had put the newcomers through the ringer in the past two weeks.

_‘Ah! Kaname-chan, right? I’m really looking forward to getting to know you. Can we start with the mitts, like you did at signups with Amamiya-senpai?’_

She had smiled pleasantly, to start. _‘I’m looking forward to working with you, too. We’ll start with running. And you should call me ‘Manager Takeda’ or ‘Coach Takeda’, please!’_

_‘Oh, that’s cute. Okay! How many laps?’_

_‘I won’t be counting.’_

_‘Oh… that’s nice. So just until we’re warmed up, Kaname-chan?’_

_‘No.’_ Her smile vanished. _‘I won’t be counting because you’re running the entire fucking practice. Before you ask, it’s over when I_ **_say_ ** _it’s over. And it’s Coach Takeda, maggot. Now RUN!’_

_‘Uwah!’_

Within a week they went from forty down to a group of ten, including himself, Shou, and Eiji. Impressively, Kaoru Iwai, Munehisa Iwai’s son, also stuck it out without a single complaint. Things were going well. And yet, Ren felt the pressure mounting. A strange thing for someone who had literally shot a god in the face. But as usual, it wasn’t concern for himself - it was concern for the people depending on him.

After Kamoshida’s destruction of every team of note other than volleyball and his own subsequent downfall, sports at Shujin already had a dodgy reputation. This was only compounded by the scandal surrounding the track team shortly after where Yamauchi tried to repeat what Kamoshida did with the volleyball team.

There were even rumblings of a ‘curse’ around the sports teams and clubs at Shujin as a result of Kamoshida and Yamauchi’s selfish actions… and the inter-high boxing meet was the first major competition of any of the clubs. So whether they liked it or not, their performance would likely affect the reputation of the rest of the teams as a whole.

Not to mention Kawakami’s reputation. The teacher had fought hard for the boxing club to retain the repurposed multipurpose room, and the success or failure of the boxing team also reflected on her as the faculty advisor.

And then there were the concerns outside of boxing - university entrance exams, Futaba’s first year back at school, Kaname’s transfer, his friends—

“Hey, Wildcard. Need a spot?”

Ren stared up in surprise as Ann appeared over him in workout gear, her hair back in a ponytail. She wore a hoodie, zipped up, and tight black yoga pants. With hands protected in fuschia lifting gloves, she started spotting for Ren.

“You’re cute when you space out. Didn’t even notice me coming over.” She smirked. “So. What’s going on, Ren?”

Ren grunted, nearing the end of his set. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. And that one didn’t count. Poor form.” Ann said. “I haven’t trained with you lately because of my job, but Kana-chan called me.”

“She called you?” Ren pushed the bar up onto the rack, sitting up. “She could have just told me herself.”

“She tried. But she was too busy trying to stop you from killing the rest of the team.” Ann said, pointing across the gym. Kaname was handing out water and towels to the other nine boxers. They had dutifully tried to keep up with Ren’s brutal training regimen over the past two weeks, even after Kaname’s weeding out of the undedicated.

Ren frowned. “I didn’t tell them to do what I was doing.”

“That’s because you didn’t have to. They look up to you, you know? They want to do what their captain’s doing.” Ann started changing out the plates on the bar; Ren followed suit on the other side as Ann continued. “But did you know that they’re starting to call you ‘Onimiya’? For your insane training regimen. But Kana-chan says that your timing’s off, and that you’re overall looking terrible. And, you’re overtraining. So, what’s wrong?”

Ann slid into Ren’s place on the bench, taking her turn as she started pressing.

Ren spotted her, his eyes darting briefly to the way she arched her back, driving her shoulders into the bench. “...Just stressed out, I guess. We need to get off to a good start. And then there’s the things outside of the team, like all of our friends, and exams… There’s a lot to worry about. Lots of pressure.”

Ann let out a breath through pursed lips as she finished her set. “Yep.”

Ren laughed despite himself. “Gee, thanks.”

Ann sat up. “You’re right. The boxing team’s new; Kawakami and the other sports teams need you to make a good showing. But aren’t those pretty small things, compared to everything else we’ve been through? And do you really need to worry about any of us anymore? Futaba’s a lot stronger than she used to be. Kana-chan’s tough, too. And Ryuji has Makoto. Trust your friends.”

The implication was clear - they were friends; he was no longer the leader responsible for all of their well-being.

Ren slid into position on the bench after adjusting the weights. Ann smiled down at him.

“So, can you just chill, and stop scaring your team? Just train, just be _you_ , and things will work out. And stop overtraining. You’re going to finish this set, and you’re going to be done for the day.”

Ren frowned, uncertain; he didn’t like the idea of truncating a training session, even if Ann was right. “I don’t know…”

Ann rolled her eyes. Casually, she unzipped her hoody, revealing a low-cut, but functional deep-red sports bra, in the same color as her old Phantom Thief outfit. She performed a long, careful stretch, her arms above her head, as Ren stared blankly from below, on the bench.

Somewhere in the gym, there was a thud and a curse as Kaoru dropped a weight on his foot.

Ren slowly sat up, his mouth suddenly dry. “...You know, I think I might have pulled something on that last set. Let’s call it quits for the day.”

Ann smirked, poking Ren’s nose. “I thought you might say that, Wildcard.”

>>>

April 29, 20xx 

All of the former Phantom Thieves, plus Shiho, gathered around a table in Leblanc. It was just after the first inter-high boxing meet, and Shujin had done well - Eiji and Shou both won by decision. But, the reason for the group’s excitement (and impromptu celebration) was Ren’s convincing TKO in his first inter-high match in over a year. They were waiting for the boxer to finish debriefing with his corner before joining them at Leblanc.

“Did you see that?! That was crazy!” Ryuji exclaimed. “Ren just took the guy apart! Fuckin’ _Onimiya_!”

“We were there too, RyuRyu.” Shiho said, wryly. “He did look good tonight. Takemi-sensei even checked him out yesterday to make sure. She said he’s as healthy as she’s ever seen him.”

Mona meowed, his paws up on the table. “I’ve been making sure he gets to bed on time!”

Haru laughed. “Good job, Mona-chan.”

“Still, it’s remarkable.” Makoto said. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen something like that before, outside of a manga…”

“Indeed.” Yusuke said, nodding. “I think both his return match as well as the size of the crowd exceeded our expectations…”

Ann was fairly quiet, just listening to her friends. She just wasn’t able to get as excited about the outcome of the fight. The atmosphere was quite energetic, despite the fact that it was an amateur bout. The intrigue around Ren’s history and his mounting popularity at Shujin had contributed to a larger than expected turnout. Also, Ren was already known to be linked to Ann, and as her own career advanced, more members of the media had taken an interest in Ren as well, to see who the ‘up and coming model’ was dating.

But despite all the positive energy, the fight bothered her.

>>>

Ren approached his opponent, bouncing lightly on his toes. He effortlessly claimed the center of the ring, waiting for the other boy - Daisuke Setoguchi - to get within range. Although Ren was the one waiting, the pressure he exerted made it feel like he was the one in motion. Hunting… stalking.

From her vantage point in the stands, Ann smiled slightly. She had seen this before, of course. In Kapolei, to devastating effect. Her Wildcard was moving more aggressively this time though, not using the first round to feel his opponent out like he had against Shaw. He was already on the offensive.

She leaned forward as Setoguchi started to cross the invisible line that Ann knew was there. Her eyes on Ren, she knew just what to look for: just a slight twitch in his right foot, not visible from his opponent’s vantage point. Although much had been made of Ren’s jabs and vicious chopping right, what really set him apart was his ‘boxing sense’ and his exquisite footwork. Even his jabs started from the mat.

Ann nodded to herself. _‘Now.’_

The audience exploded into gasps and cheers as Ren’s left hand shot out, not telegraphed to anyone other than Ann. Jab after jab stabbed into Setoguchi’s guard, rapid-fire. Ren’s opponent tried to slip past a jab to counter, rewarded only by another jab from another angle. It caught him in the face, stopping him in his tracks and wide-open.

Ren adjusted his distance and angle, backstepping half a pace before continuing with his sharp lefts.

 _‘That’s odd.’_ Ann thought, immediately. She knew that was a clean opening for Ren’s chopping right, his favored Sunday punch. She wondered if there was something that Ren saw that she didn’t. But it became increasingly clear to her that Ren was ignoring openings for his right, focusing instead on irritating, sharp jabs. Not enough to cause any real damage to Setoguchi, but more than enough to disrupt any attempt at offense.

Setoguchi, frustrated, set his jaw, raised his guard, and rushed in. An accepted strategy against an outboxer - stick against him, and punish him from the inside.

Ren adjusted instantly, a left hook to the body driving Setoguchi back. His guard dropped as he wheezed at the unexpected body-blow.

The crowd cheered - this time, the opening was patently obvious to everyone watching. It was going to be over in a flash.

Ren disappointed them all, backstepping again and sending more quick jabs into Setoguchi’s face and headgear, angle varying rapidly to avoid parries and blocks.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the round.

Ren turned, walking back to his corner and sitting. Setoguchi did the same, not stumbling at all. Ann could see that the referee was confused - normally when a fighter was this overwhelmed at the inter-high level, it would have already been called a TKO. But Setoguchi seemed undamaged; they were just jabs, after all. He was visibly frustrated, though.

As for Ren’s corner, Shinoda, Kaname, and Takeda were all there - Shinji Takeda had made the trip from Kamakura to join his corner team for Ren’s return match. Both the Takedas were yelling at Ren; Kaname was even gripping him by his headgear, shaking him. After she stopped, Ren shook his head in disagreement and popped his mouthguard back in.

Even above the crowd noise, Kaname’s voice was audible to Ann.

“...You fucking _idiot!_ He’s going to figure it out! I don’t care what he said, Renpai! Just _finish this_ before he puts you on the mat, you damned _moron--_ Don’t you _dare_ warn me about language!” Kaname screamed, jabbing her finger at the referee.

The referee backed away slowly, deciding wisely to turn to the fighters. The second round started.

Again, Ren moved forward with a barrage of lefts. The crowd became irritated.

“Throw a right!”

“The hell is this?!”

“Don’t you have another arm!?”

Ren didn’t listen. Left after left shot in, with an occasional left hook to the body to drive Setoguchi back. The crowd started getting annoyed with Ren’s opponent as well.

“Come on, man! You know what he’s doing, so counter it!”

But it wasn’t that easy, Ann knew. She could see from watching the way Ren tracked his opponent; the way his jabs so precisely punished him for every advance. It wasn’t as simple as countering the left, or gritting his teeth and bearing the jabs. There was also the knowledge that any misstep could lead to a vicious right, poised and waiting - even if Ren hadn’t unleashed it yet.

Ren’s right shoulder moved a fraction.

Setoguchi slipped left, falling for the feint. Ren punished him with several more lefts into the opening, the force of the blows gradually starting to resemble straights rather than jabs.

There was a pause - the referee almost moved forward to call the match for a TKO. But Setoguchi was clearly still in the fight; he shot into the gap in Ren’s timing in a desperate attempt to turn the match around.

His corner shouted, seeing something before Setoguchi didn’t in his tunnel vision.

It was too late.

The impact of a boxing glove striking rang out. Setoguchi fell to his knees, remaining upright, but clearly out of the fight. Ren stood poised in southpaw stance, having switched his feet to deliver an unexpected full-power left straight to his opponent’s chin. The referee crossed his arms, signalling the end of the match. The bell rang.

The crowd roared at the spectacle. In his return match, Ren Amamiya defeated Daisuke Setoguchi with only his left hand.

As her friends around her cheered and yelled excitedly, Ann’s eyes were fixed on Ren. He squatted down in front of his opponent, conscious but on his knees. He seemed to be saying something to him.

Ann frowned, catching the look on Setoguchi’s face before the two boxers’ respective corners got in the way, obscuring her view.

>>>

The bell above Leblanc’s door rang as it was pushed open. Ren strode in, Kaname on his heels.

“Hey, guys.”

Ryuji greeted Ren excitedly, jumping up to greet his best friend.

“Are you for real, man?! Just your left?!” Ryuji started pantomiming the fight, lightly putting left jabs into Ren’s shoulder. “That was fucking _crazy!_ ”

Ren laughed, slipping a left and flicking Ryuji’s ear with his right. “I know, Ryuji. I was kinda _there_.”

Kaname smacked both of the boys on the back of the head. “You can _both_ stop getting excited about it.” She scoffed. “Tch. You took a needless risk, Renpai. Dad and Tetsu-san are both pretty annoyed.”

Ren raised an eyebrow, the faintest little smirk on his lips.

The petite girl rolled her eyes, sighing. She eventually cracked a little, proud smile. “That _was_ pretty cool, though. I think Dad and Tetsu-san are probably drunk off their asses celebrating at some bar, now.”

“Heh. Figures.” Ren turned to Ann, smiling. He opened his arms.

Ann eyed him for a moment - he was apparently back to his usual self. She hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Nice fight, Wildcard.”

“Thanks, Songbird.”

They chatted for awhile, catching up. Yusuke was doing well over at Kosei and managing to support himself with his part time job as well as proceeds from selling some of his paintings. Both Haru and Makoto were doing well in their respective university programs. And of course…

“So, RyuRyu. Did you _see Mako-chan’s apartment_ yet?” Shiho asked, a Cheshire grin plastered on her face.

“Hm? Oh, yeah. It’s a bit tight, but it’s pretty comfortable.” Ryuji said, blinking.

Shiho’s opened and closed her jaw, as if trying to figure out what exactly to say to that. Her normally quick-wit was overcome with possibilities. “Ch… champ. I can’t. I just can’t. Please. Help?”

Ren just shook his head. “I… I have no words, Shiho. This is the definition of target confusion.”

Ryuji frowned. “Target confusion? Makoto, what are they…”

Ryuji trailed off as he noted Makoto’s distinctly carmine expression. She stood up, carefully composing herself before speaking.

“I really need to get going. I have a paper to work on.”

“Oh! I’ll walk you home, then, Makoto.” Ryuji said, eagerly. “I--”

“NO.” Makoto snapped, storming towards the door.

“?! What? Makoto? What’d I do?” Ryuji said, going after her as she exited Leblanc. The two of them walked off, seemingly arguing angrily - but the brunette slipped her hand into the bottle blonde’s, even as she gestured sharply with her other hand.

“Heh. Nice to see them doing well.” Ren said, before yawning.

Kaname frowned. “You didn’t take any damage in that fight, Renpai, but we’d better get you to bed. Come on.”

Kaname stood, taking hold of Ren’s wrist. She casually headed for the stairs up to the attic.

Ann coughed loudly, getting in the way, her arms crossed.

Kaname grinned. “Can’t blame a girl for trying, Ann.” The boxing team manager let go of Ren’s wrist. “Make sure he gets to sleep. At least six hours.”

Shiho stood, getting her coat. She waved a hand flippantly. “Oh, don’t worry. Blondie will get him into bed, alright.”

>>>

Ren changed into his typical pyjamas - a loose black sweater and sweatpants. He looked over at Ann. He gave her his best smoldering gaze, looking at her through stray locks of his unkempt hair. He smirked slightly, giving the impression that he already knew the answer to his question.

“Are you joining me?”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Just get in bed, Wildcard.”

Despite her words, though, she got changed, too - she turned away, feeling Ren’s eyes on her back as she changed into one of Ren’s spare sweaters. She snuggled up to him, glancing at her boyfriend’s face. He gave her a smug smile.

Ann stuck her tongue out at him before turning her back into his chest, smiling when she felt his arms slide around her. He always made her feel safe; secure. But thoughts of the fight still bothered her.

“Hey, Ren?”

“Mm?” He murmured, kissing her hair. “Something up?”

“Yeah… Tonight, during the fight. You weren’t really yourself.” Ann felt his arms tense slightly; she knew she had caught him.

He sighed. “He _really_ pissed me off, Songbird.”

“I could tell.” Ann turned in his arms again, kissing him reassuringly. “Can you tell me about it?”

Ren hesitated before relenting, not really wanting to hide anything from her.

“It started at the weigh-in, before the fight. Setoguchi just approached me in the locker room right after we were done. He started off friendly, but I had him pegged… He was going to try to rattle me a bit.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Clearly, he didn’t do his pre-scouting. That kind of stuff doesn’t really work on you.”

“He managed to dig up all my old fight videos from Kamakura, actually. He started off by talking about how I was going to eat a counter for every right I threw, that for all of my jabs and my chopping right, everything I did as a finishing pattern was a basic one-two combination. He said he didn’t need to be afraid of my left.” Ren shrugged. “That wasn’t what bothered me, though. I’ve had opponents say similar stuff to me before.”

“But, he decided to drag you into it. He _really_ did his research… Said some things about you and Kamoshida that were disgusting and untrue. I don’t care to repeat what, exactly. Then he reiterated that I should ‘watch my temper’ because if I used my right out of anger, he’d turn it around on me. I figured he was trying either to bait me into a counter, or make me hesitant to use my right.”

Ann breathed out a quiet sigh in awe. “So you decided to beat him with just your left. You gave him exactly what he wanted, and humiliated him in doing it.”

“When the match was over, I told him I took his advice. And I told him that if he trains twice as hard, maybe I’d need to use two arms to kick his ass next time.”

Ann was quiet for awhile, studying Ren.

“That explains the look on his face after the fight. He looked as dejected as I’ve ever seen anyone.” She stroked the skin on Ren’s chest, letting him know she wasn’t judging him. “Don’t get me wrong, Wildcard. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, or that you can’t get angry. It’s just… you weren’t even like that against Shaw in Kapolei, when he said things about me to try to get you off your game.”

“Ah. Well, Shaw was a jerk, but Setoguchi was worse. He researched Kamoshida and all the shit he did and _still_ thought it was appropriate to use that.” Ren smiled slightly as he continued. “And also, Yamanaka-san was there in Kapolei, and I wanted to show him a good fight.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “I’m going to let your crush on Yamanaka-san pass for the moment.” She shook her head, with a little sigh. “But… I think your boxing at its best there’s joy in it, Wildcard. Even against Shaw, there was a lightness to your fists. It makes me smile, thinking about it. That’s why you should box. Not to defend my honor, or anyone else’s honor. Kana-chan said you looked cool tonight… But when you’re giving it your all because it’s the thing you love to do… That’s when you’re the coolest, to me. That’s when I fall in love with you all over again.”

Ren smiled; he took hold of the hand that was on his chest, kissing her palm. “Well. In that case, then that’s the only way I want to box.”

“Good.” Ann yawned. “We should sleep.”

“Mm. Yeah.”

“Your hand on my ass is _not_ sleep.”

“Neither is your hand on mine?”

“We’ll agree to disagree.” Ann said, helping herself to a playful little squeeze.

“What does that even mean?” Ren smirked.

“It means if you close that smart mouth, I’ll _show_ you what I mean, Wildcard.”

>>>

April 30, 20xx 

Ann’s phone buzzed, waking her up. Mindful not to wake Ren up, she reached over him, picking it up.

**ET: Kei-chan, good morning!**

**AT: Morning, Mom** (Sleepy blonde bunny)

**ET: Ah, sorry. Isn’t it around ten over there? I thought you’d be up, even on a Sunday. Anyway! I wanted to let you know, we’ll be home on the 26th! I’ll forward you our itinerary as soon as it’s finalized. We should make plans! I’m eager to meet this boy of yours :)**

**AT: Oh! Okay… how does Daddy feel about it?**

**ET: ...He’s coming around. Don’t worry. I’ll keep working on him.**

“...Songbird?” Ren yawned, stirring. “Someone texting?”

“Hm? Oh. It’s nothing. Just work.” Ann said, quickly.

_‘...How am I going to get Ren ready for this?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I like putting in characters that only had bit parts/little use in canon. In this case, Kaoru Iwai, who in canon wanted to go to Shujin due to the protagonists' influence. It seemed right for me to bring him in.
> 
> I'll try to address Kaname's adjustment to the new place next chapter; it didn't quite fit in the flow of this one where I wanted to focus on the start of school/Ren getting back into boxing/laying some groundwork to meet the parents.
> 
> New uniforms/looks - Main reason, honestly? So Ann has a tie to grab. I love that scene in "Say I Love You" (shows up in both the manga and anime, highly recommend) and I wanted to use it.
> 
> Beating someone down with just his left hand - Referencing another favorite manga of mine (Hajime no Ippo). If it seems excessive, remember that Ren's spent the year fighting for his life, effectively. And he's had the benefit of training with Yamanaka, who's the god-tier boxer in this AU.
> 
> Unforeseen challenge for me is how to switch focus to the PT other than Ann and Ren. Truthfully, I haven't put a lot of thought into how their year will go.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spring term continues. Ren learns more about the Takamaki family and prepares to meet the parents. The younger members of the PT family adjust to the first year of their high school lives. Ren and Ann talk about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terminology:
> 
> kulta: lit. gold, but used as Finnish term of endearment  
> Kei-chan: Takamaki family pet name for Ann. See chapter 18 of GtD (Undercard). Basically Ann's first word was 'keikii' (cake) rather than 'Mama' or 'Daddy'  
> Fuchu and Tama: The adult and juvenile prisons that Ren was in during January  
> A single vs a double: Single is ~1.5 oz, double 3 oz of booze

May 6, 20xx 

“Erika! Have you seen my gym bag?”

“It’s been packed already, honey. We’re leaving for Shanghai tomorrow, remember?” Erika Takamaki said, idly sipping her coffee as she read the news on her tablet at breakfast.

She sighed, smiling. This was one thing she’d miss about Hong Kong. ‘ _Yuenyeung’_ , or Hong Kong style coffee with tea mixed in, was quite pleasant. But the prospect of going home to her daughter was far better, of course. They were making just one more stop in Shanghai to take care of some final business before a well-earned break in Tokyo. The brunette looked up in mild irritation as she heard her husband open and start rummaging around in one of their suitcases.

“Elias, why in the _world_ are you looking for your gym bag? After the hotel staff packed everything up already, too.” Erika said. “It’s not like you need the stuff that’s in there to work out.”

“If you have time to henpeck, you have time to help.” Elias called from the bedroom of their hotel suite in the Peninsula, one of Hong Kong’s foremost hotels.

Erika raised an eyebrow. _‘Oh, it’s like_ **_that_ ** _, is it?’_

She walked into the bedroom, eyeing the broad back of her husband. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, clearly getting ready to go work out. He hunched over two open suitcases, muttering to himself in Finnish as he searched. Erika approached from behind. Sneaking up on him was generally useless, owing to his past profession. He likely knew she was coming. But he couldn’t have known her intention.

“Finally. Erika, I’ve looked all through this case, and-- Agh!”

She mercilessly attacked his sides, tickling with wild abandon.

Elias spun, laughing involuntarily as he tried to fight Erika off. Eventually, he had her pinned back to the bed. Panting, he stared down at her accusingly.

“Well. You started it.” Erika said, nonplussed. She smirked, looking remarkably like her daughter when _she_ was in a certain mood. She openly eyed Elias’ shoulders, arms, and chest. Her husband had been taking his fitness routine a little more seriously in the past few months, and it showed. She closed her eyes as he leaned in, speaking softly in her ear.

“Sorry.” The rich sound of his voice took her back to their college days.

“Mm…”

“So, the bag…?” He murmured, his hand starting to untie her robe.

“Ah… Elias. It’s in the red suitcase.”

Erika opened her eyes, sitting up. Elias was gone, back to the suitcase. She glared at her husband in equal parts irritation and amusement. “Seriously?!”

“Very serious.” Elias said, nodding. He reached into the luggage, removing his gym bag.

Erika sighed. “So, why is that so important?”

“I’m out of practice.” Elias said, shrugging. He slung the bag over his shoulder. He stood up straight, looking at his wife. In the moment, he looked every part the stereotypical impassive Finn; barely a hint of his mixed heritage was visible. He stood at 190cm tall, with clear blue eyes and a stern, handsome face. His blonde hair was cut short; he hadn’t changed his haircut since his younger days in the service. A neatly trimmed beard framed his face.

Erika pouted at him.

Elias tried to resist; he sighed as his resolve crumbled. Both his wife and daughter had his number. He walked over, kissing her cheek. “Sorry, _kulta_. I’ll make it up to you. We don’t have anything left to do here, so after I get back…”

Erika perked up. “Shopping? I saw a few things that Kei-chan might like.”

“Heh. Alright.” The imposing Finn enjoyed doting on his ‘pigtailed princess’ quite a bit. Elias turned, heading to the door.

“What’s got you so worked up, anyway? It hasn’t bothered you before, being out of practice.” Erika asked, curiously.

Elias glanced over his shoulder, gesturing at the tablet at his bedside. The screen was still on, revealing an article from _Boxing Fan_. The headline read: ‘He Who Rules With His Left Rules the World - Kamakura’s Boxing Ace Makes Explosive Return!’

“How can I read something like that and not feel fired up?”

>>>

“Come on, MOVE IT! GET FIRED UP!” Kaname yelled, smacking her shinai against the rubber tire that Kaoru was dragging behind him.

“Yes Coach!” Iwai’s son responded. He lowered his head, digging his feet in - and _accelerated_ , Kaname close behind. Surprise briefly flashed across the violet-haired girl’s face before she caught up, continuing her encouragement. He was the only one running on the track, Saturday after class during the boxing team’s practice. The other members of the boxing team had fallen out already - even the veterans Ren, Eiji, and Shou.

Ann and Mona sat with the team; Ann passed out water bottles to the other nine members of the boxing team before taking a seat on the grass beside Ren.

“Why is he still out there?” Ann asked. “And why aren’t any of you out there with him?”

Ren gestured at the beginners. “They fell out because they’ve been pushed far enough. Kana-chan keeps a pretty close eye on them; despite the fact that she’s monstrously scary, she never takes it to the point where they’re in any real danger of injury. As for the veterans, the spring schedule is pretty packed… Usually a fight per week, so we can’t risk over-training. It’ll slow down in pace but ramp up in importance when we hit the tournament season.”

Ann nodded. That was true. The first major boxing tournament was the Inter-High Tournament just before summer vacation. But during the spring, there were still frequent fights to determine seeding order for the first tournament. And every fight, right from the start of the year, carried a points value to determine qualification for the prestigious Winter Cup in December. The tournaments were less frequent, but tended to be four-day affairs with one fight per day.

“So why is Kaoru-kun still out there?”

“Who knows?” Ren shrugged as he watched Kaname. It was clear that the pint-sized team manager was surprised by Kaoru. The novice was not only accepting the punishing conditioning regimen, but he was _smiling_. Ren had the feeling that the son of Munehisa Iwai was throwing Kaname for a loop - he wasn’t physically imposing, but he had surprisingly good strength and impressive spirit.

They rounded the track again. Kaname jammed her shinai into the center of the tire. At the sudden application of the brakes, Kaoru fell flat on his back. Kaname entered his field of view as she glared down at him.

“Your form’s falling apart, Iwai. I want you to _run_ , not drag your carcass around the track.” Kaname scoffed. “Get up, get some water.”

“I can keep going!” Kaoru gasped, his usually neat black hair plastered across his sweat-drenched forehead.

Kaname reached down, untying the tire from Kaoru’s waist.

“Don’t overdo it. I’m here to turn you into a boxer, not to set you back.” She said, the normal hard edge of her voice disappearing for a moment. Kaname glanced up, noting Ren smiling at the two of them. She scoffed. “Not that you could possibly become any more useless than you are now, Iwai. Get your ass up and get some water. We’re moving into the gym in five minutes. You’d better have figured out how to wrap up your hands by now.”

Ann and Ren stood; Ann glanced at her phone.

“I should get going, Wildcard. Need to meet with my agent to talk about next week’s shoot and interview.” She stood on her toes, kissing his cheek.

Ren smiled. “See you, Songbird. Thanks for coming. The boys always practice hard when their ‘anesan’ is around.”

Ann rolled her eyes at the term, but smiled as she left. “Sure. Later, Ren.”

Ren stretched, letting out a relaxed breath. Things were so different this year. Everyone’s biggest stressors seemed to be ‘good’ problems - trials that only people who were doing well had to deal with. Ann’s main challenge was juggling her burgeoning modeling career with school; Ryuji and Shiho were happily balancing their academic goals with their roles as the leaders of the resurrected track and volleyball teams. Futaba was adjusting to school and bonding with Tomoko and Kaoru.

“On your feet, boxers!” Kaname shouted, smacking her shinai against her palm. “Inside!”

And of course, Kaname was Kaname. Steady as always.

Ren chuckled, heading inside. He paused, glancing at Kaname’s school bag, uniform, and , sitting at the edge of the track. The manager and trainer was in the process of collecting her things to follow the team inside the boxing team’s gym.

“Hey, Kana-chan. You can leave your things in either your class or the locker room, if you want. We’re in the city, but Shujin’s a pretty secure campus.”

Kaname blinked, looking up. “...Oh. It’s fine, Renpai. I keep some of my supplies for the team in my bag, anyway. Not to mention the training profiles on each of you.”

“Ah. Right.” Ren said, nodding. He headed in.

Kaname waited for him to pass by before kneeling down, carefully rechecking the contents of her schoolbag. She followed Ren inside, immediately moving to watch over the beginners.

>>>

At the end of practice, Kaname locked up the boxing team’s gym/club room before heading to the shoe lockers. She stopped in front of her locker, glancing up and down the hall.

She waited until Ren, his friends, and anyone from the boxing team were gone. Kaname then removed her shoes from her locker and walked over to a nearby trash can. She shook them out; a multitude of thumbtacks fell out of them and into the trash. Kaname carefully inspected them before sliding them on and packing her slippers into her school bag, rather than leaving them in the locker. She resolved to start carrying her shoes around with her as well.

Kaname supposed it was only natural. Ann was a kind person, objectively the prettiest girl in school, and in a mutually head-over-heels-in-love relationship with Ren. Moreover, with everything that Ann and Shiho had been through, no one was eager to raise a hand against her (or even start up more rumors about her). So the other girls in school kept their animosity for Ann to the level of jealous looks and grumbling.

Kaname, though, was a different story. She was a first year, but she ‘dared’ to insert herself into the life of Ren Amamiya, the handsome captain of the boxing team. Moreover, he was fresh off having his name completely cleared. She heard the whispers in the hallway; accidentally-on-purposely loud enough for her to hear as she passed by.

_‘Who does she think she is? I bet she’s hanging around the boxing team just to try to steal him away from Takamaki-san.’_

_‘Isn’t that kind of sad? She’s so clingy with him even though he has a girlfriend. I heard she even followed him from Kamakura.’_

_‘She only hangs out with Amamiya-senpai and the boxers from the team. All boys. Do you think…’_

She wished the bullying was physical. Direct confrontation she could handle. This anonymous aggression was just frustrating. It was thumbtacks left in her shoes, stealing from her school bag whenever it was unattended, and having her homework go ‘missing’ when it was passed from her seat up the row to the teacher. And if people weren’t spreading rumors or making her life difficult, they were ignoring her and isolating her. This sort of thing was difficult to stop with her fists. She couldn’t very well beat up the entire student body. Well, she _could_ , but she _shouldn’t_.

“Er. Coach Takeda?”

Kaname looked up, caught off-guard for once. She saw Kaoru Iwai, standing at the end of the row of lockers. She kept her expression carefully composed. She didn’t want anyone’s help.

“What’s up, Iwai?”

“Er… I was wondering. Can I borrow a pair of handwraps to practice with?”

Kaname nodded; she fished a pair out of her bag, tossing them to Kaoru.

Kaoru caught them, smiling brightly. “Thanks! Want to walk home together? At least to the station.”

Kaname didn’t really want to get anyone else drawn into this, especially not one of her boxers. Associating with her could get her fellow first-year into trouble as well. She also wanted to keep this quiet because she didn’t want Ren to find out. She didn’t want to worry him, especially when he was finally thriving again. “I’m fine on my own, Iwai--”

“Ah, I get it.” Kaoru said, shrugging. “I’m not exactly the coolest guy in school, and you wouldn’t want people to think you’re associating with me. But, don’t worry. It looks like there isn’t anyone else at school right now.”

He gave her a meaningful look.

Kaname walked by Kaoru without a word. He frowned, the disappointment clear on his bespectacled face.

She paused at the door, her voice tinged with slight irritation. “Well? Are you just going to stand there, Iwai? I’m not going to go slow just because you’re tired from practice. Let’s go.”

Kaoru smiled. “Yes, Coach!”

>>>

May 13, 20xx 

Ann wandered into Leblanc on Saturday afternoon in a bit of a daze. Exams finished on Friday, but she hadn’t really had any time to rest. On Friday afternoon, she couldn’t go to watch Ren box; she had to rush to meet a _Vague_ columnist for an interview. And today, she actually skipped school (with permission) for the photoshoot that was meant to accompany the interview. In short, she needed to recharge by seeing her favorite boxer. And by drinking her favorite coffee made by said favorite boxer.

She pushed the door open to Leblanc. The aforementioned boxer slash barista slash student stood behind the bar in Leblanc, clad in his usual apron. He waved and smiled at Ann before he called out a few more drinks that were dutifully collected and served by Futaba, wearing her own smaller apron over her Shujin uniform. She was now comfortable enough to do this without one of her many masks.

Ann frowned. Leblanc was busy lately, and today was no exception. There were certainly more high schoolers - the girls there to ogle Ren, and the boys there either for herself, since she was there so frequently, or Futaba, whose oddly adorable quirkiness had won her a few admirers as well.

“Anesan!” Eiji called, waving from the kitchen.

Ann grimaced. And also, there always seemed to be one of the boxing team members around, either faithfully trying to help their captain out or trying to gain some insight into how he lived his life, as if that would somehow help them become better boxers. She rolled her eyes as a few of the girls made doe eyes at Ren. Though, it was somewhat understandable. He _did_ look good in that green apron. And when he forgot to shave (today, for example), with his unruly hair, his handsome face even started to approach _rugged_.

Ann fought back the green monster within her as she took a seat at the bar across from Ren. Exams made her more grumpy - and jealous - than usual. She looked up as Ren approached. The crooked little smile on his face seemed to say that he picked up on her mood and wanted to do something about it.

“Hi there, miss. What can I get you?” He smiled pleasantly, without a hint of their usual familiarity.

She looked up, brightening despite her fatigue and irritation. Ann liked this game.

“Mm… I don’t know. What’s your favorite?” Ann asked, resting her chin on her hand.

“I like a sweet blonde.” Ren said, smoothly. “...Talking about the type of roast, of course.”

Futaba, now also behind the counter, rolled her eyes so far that she could have seen the back of her own skull.

Ann suppressed her reaction, continuing to play it cool. “Of course. But you know… boys like you. I bet you say that to all the blue-eyed blonde girls that waltz in here.” She paused, inspiration striking her. “You know, I’m not even that interested in coffee?”

Ren’s voice dropped into the register they typically reserved for the bedroom; his grey eyes locked onto hers. “Oh? And what might have brought you in here, then…?”

Ann _really_ fought back the blush. She wasn’t immune to him by any means. “Mm… Well, there’s this really cute barista that works here… He’s tall, handsome.”

Ren smirked. “Mmhm…”

“Goatee. Older guy, though. Everyone calls him Boss.” Ann peered up at Ren with a straight face. “He’s kinda sexy, in that mature way--”

Futaba gagged.

“Okay, okay! Holy...” Ren laughed. “You win, Songbird. When did you get so good at this?”

Ann smiled, leaning forward gracefully. She turned her face to Ren for her reward, tapping her cheek twice with her index finger.

Ren took the cue, leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

At the last minute, Ann turned, catching his lips and stealing a kiss. “I’m dating a cocky face-puncher with a mouth as smart as it is pretty, remember? I learned to give as good as I get.” She resisted the urge to flex at the dejected looking girls in Leblanc.

Ren shook his head, chuckling. “So how did the photoshoot go? And exams? We haven’t really had the chance to talk since then.”

“Meh.” Ann said, shrugging.

“That bad?” Ren frowned.

Ann sighed. “Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m confident I did okay. We studied together, after all. I’m just wondering what ‘okay’ really means? ‘Good enough’ depends on what I’m shooting for, right?”

“Hm. This sounds like a future-y kind of talk.” Ren mused.

“It does, doesn’t it?”

Ren glanced around the cafe. “We should probably chat more when this place clears out a little. Speculating about our future is probably the main pastime of a lot of the current regulars. I’d hate to give them spoilers.”

Ann laughed. “Alright. When you’re done. You, me… Upstairs?”

Ren affected a wide-eyed, scandalized expression. He clutched the front of his apron with a hand like one might clutch a string of pearls. “Just what kind of establishment do you think this is?!”

The blonde leaned in, raising an eyebrow suggestively. She spoke just low enough for him to hear, her voice sultry, almost into _contralto_ range. “The kind that employs a barista who really just wants to use a heart-to-heart chat with his girlfriend as an excuse to get her alone in his room? When he knows that she really wants to… ...de-stress?”

“...Heh. Right.” Ren said, looking more than a little bewitched. Right up until a bag of coffee beans smacked into the back of his head.

“Get to work, nii-chan! Flirt later!” Futaba snapped.

“Sheesh, Gremlin. Okay, okay…”

>>>

After closing time, a thoroughly ‘de-stressed’ Ann rested prone on Ren’s bed, clad only in one of his long-sleeved shirts. She rested her head on her hands; she lazily kicked her legs a little as she watched Ren. He was shirtless (Ann had kind of insisted) as he assembled a dresser. It was probably time to stop living out of a cardboard box. She smiled, looking over the attic. The place seemed much more lived-in, now.

There were more pictures on the wall; various trinkets and souvenirs from outings with his friends were displayed on a shelf. And of course, quite prominently, a poster of Mamoru Yamanaka with the signed boxing gloves from Kapolei (which Ren hadn’t worn ever again) mounted to the wall beneath.

Ann caught Ren’s eye as he finished. She let out a little theatrical sigh.

Ren quirked an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“Oh, you know. I just think you love Yamanaka-san more than me.”

“Come on, Songbird.” Ren laughed.

“I don’t know, Wildcard. You’re one candle away from a creepy shrine.” Ann said, rolling onto her side and facing away from him. “A girl could use some _reassurance_.”

“Didn’t I just spend the better part of an hour reassuring you…?”

She smiled, hearing him come closer. “That was to help me de-stress. This is different.”

She sighed softly as he got into bed behind her, one arm sliding under her head, the other going over her slender waist. She giggled at the ticklish sensation of his stubble against her skin as he started kissing the nape of her neck. She turned in his arms, stroking his cheek.

“You keep forgetting to shave.”

“Do you dislike it?”

“It makes you less pretty-cute and more scruffy-cute.” Ann said, thoughtfully. “So it’s a bit of a wash.”

Ren chuckled. He kissed the tip of her nose, earning another little giggle.

“So. Future-y talk?”

Ann nodded. She quietly traced a pattern on his chest with her finger as she spoke. “Just something that came up during the interview. It kinda hit me that a model’s career is _really_ short. I mean, I always knew. But it never really hit home before, you know? I can’t do this forever.”

“Well. To me, you’ll be beautiful forever.”

Ann smirked, lightly smacking Ren’s chest. “I’m already completely in love with you. Cheesy lines won’t get you anything. And they also won’t distract me from where your hand is going, Wildcard.”

“Should I stop?”

Ann rolled her eyes as she felt his hand on the bare skin of her hip and thigh.

“Didn’t say you should. But I do want to talk about this.”

Ren nodded. “So you’re trying to figure out if you should go to university?”

“Yeah… it’s the reason why I’m not sure if I should be happy with how exams went or not. I’m really sure I passed. Sorta sure that I did okay, compared to how I was last year. But if I want to go to university, the bar’s higher.”

“What would you want to study?” Ren asked.

“Probably business. I can’t draw worth beans, so I think being a designer is out. But from what I’ve seen in the industry, being a good designer is less important than having an eye for what’s going to be fashionable and knowing how to run a company.” Ann said. “But what do we really know…? We’re just teenagers trying to make plans for a world we know nothing about, really.”

“Mm.” Ren agreed as he buried his face on the crown of her head, indulging in the scent of her hair. “I know what you mean. I said some vague things about wanting to see the world from Yamanaka-san’s point of view, but practically speaking, what does that mean? A pro boxer’s career is short, too. An amateur boxer can last longer, but that doesn’t pay the bills. I’m not really sure what to do either.”

“Kaa-chan wants you to go to university, doesn’t she?”

“I guess I could go and try to figure things out from there.” Ren shrugged. “Well. You know who we used to go to for advice about things like this…”

Ann nodded. “Makoto.”

Ren grinned. “We could call her now. There’s still room on the bed—ouch!”

Ann withdrew her finger, having just flicked Ren’s forehead. “How quickly you’ve forgotten the time where she had that massive crush on you.”

“Heh. That seems like forever ago…” Ren laughed. “Never would have worked for me anyway. Not blonde enough. Not model enough. But mostly, not ‘Ann Takamaki’ enough.”

Ann nuzzled his neck like a cat. “You’re sweet. But anyway, that sounds like a plan for now. University for business, though I’d have to find a program that’d let me do online classes because of my career. And for you…?”

Ren frowned. “...not sure. Maybe journalism, for now. If and when I can’t box anymore, I’d like to do something that changes the world for the better. Looking back at what we accomplished last year… it’s incredible, you know? I’d like to build on that, and I wouldn’t be a good fit for law enforcement. And politics leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Seeing what Ohya-san’s doing is pretty inspiring.”

“That’s true. It seems like she’s doing her best to keep people honest through her work. Have you tried asking her for advice?”

“There’s an idea…”

Ann sighed, nestling into place against her boyfriend. She started to drift to sleep, until she felt Ren’s fingers hook into the waistband of her panties. She opened her eyes, arching an eyebrow. “Again? You know you have a fight in a week. You should be training or resting.”

“Consider it cardio.”

>>>

May 18, 20xx 

“C’mon man, it’s true! My reputation’s completely turned around!” Ryuji said, grinning.

Shiho and Ann exchanged glances while Ren contemplated the melon and curry bread in front of him. They were sitting in the courtyard, having lunch. Ryuji was regaling his friends and fellow third-years with stories of his newfound popularity, stemming from the track team’s performance at the last meet as well as the spreading knowledge that Ryuji wasn’t a hopeless student after all.

“There was even this first year that called me one of the ‘Three Princes’ of Shujin.”

“Gross.” Ann made a face.

Shiho shrugged. “I can see it. HBA.”

“Yeah! HBA!” Ryuji cheered. He then blinked, looking at Ren. “Uh… HBA?”

Ren started to open the curry bread. “Hot by association.”

Ann laughed, hugging Ren’s arm. “Because the main course is taken by me, girls are settling for the appetizer?”

Shiho smirked at Ryuji. “Pretty much.”

“Oh, _come on._ ”

They all laughed; they knew that wasn’t true. Ryuji really was enjoying a resurgence for his third year. But the bottle blonde had learned last year the dangers of being overly concerned with popularity. Shiho grinned as she reminded Ryuji of one of those dangers.

“What does Mako-chan think of your newfound popularity?”

“Oh. I didn’t tell her.” Ryuji frowned, looking at Ren. “Should I…?”

“Right. You want to tell the girl with who you’ve just figured out what ‘seeing her apartment’ means that you’re now getting a lot of _other_ girls looking at you.”

“Right. So no.” Ryuji nodded.

Ann caught Ren’s little smirk. She spoke with exaggerated thoughtfulness. “Then again, it would be _way_ worse if she found out on her own. It would be like you were hiding it.”

“What?! No. I’ll tell her, then!”

“But _then_ ,” Shiho said, “it might look like you’re being petty and just trying to make her jealous.”

“You guys suck.” Ryuji grumbled. He sighed, looking across the courtyard. Futaba, Kaoru, and Tomoko were passing by.

Kaoru perked up. “Ah. Senpai! Have you seen Coach?”

Ren shook his head. “Sorry, Kaoru. Maybe try the gym?”

Futaba shrugged. “We just came from there, Ren-nii.”

The first-years waved before continuing on their way.

“Looks like Gremlin, To-yo, and Minimiya are having a good time.” Shiho said.

Ren blinked, just before biting into the bread. He knew of Shiho’s penchant for nicknames, but the third one was completely new. “‘Minimiya’...?”

“Yep. For Kaoru.” Shiho grinned. “You don’t see it?”

Ren laughed. “No, I get it. He works hard, and he’s a boxing idiot like me. I’m not sure even Kana-chan knows what to do with him—“

“Don’t underestimate me, Renpai.” Kaname said, walking by. In a flash, she snatched both the curry and melon bread away from Ren, replacing them with vegetables and steamed chicken in a bento box.

“Hey! What the hell! You know how hard it is to get those?!” Ren protested, snatching at the bread.

Kaname gracefully slipped the attempt, moving out of range. “You can have this kind of stuff _after_ you weigh in tomorrow.”

“I’m not even close to the maximum for welter!”

“Only because I’m managing your diet, piggy.” Kaname smirked.

Shiho snorted as Ren stood, his mouth opening and closing ineffectually. He had no response to the rarely used nickname, first given to him during the week where he had to wear P-Chan around his neck. 

Kaname smirked. She started munching on the bread as she headed to the club room.

Ren sighed, sitting.

Ann watched her go, frowning. “Is she going to eat all alone…?”

“Ah, no. She’s probably just wanting to get some stuff done for the boxing team. She did the same thing in Kamakura… she really takes her role as manager seriously.”

The blonde glanced at Kaname’s bag. It looked stuffed to capacity, and she thought she saw the heel of the girl’s shoes sticking up from the back.

“...is that really all it is?” Ann muttered.

>>>

May 20, 20xx 

Just after midnight, Kaname crept downstairs from her bedroom in the Shinoda household. Tetsuya and his wife were happy to have her - their own children had moved out some time ago, and they seemed to enjoy her company.

She wasn’t feeling very social right now, though. She poured herself a glass of water, sitting down at the kitchen table in frustration.

_‘Seriously? When was the last time I couldn’t sleep because of a bad dream? If Renpai knew, he’d…’_

That thought died as soon as it cropped up. He wouldn’t make fun of her. She knew that. The truth was much worse. He’d worry. He’d do everything he could to fix things. He’d comfort her, and then blame himself for being the reason she was in Tokyo in the first place. And, that was completely against why she followed him from Kamakura. She just wanted to be near to the person who was the most important person in her world; she didn’t want to burden him.

So she bore this alone. The isolation. The anonymous bullying. The bad dreams. She sipped her water before biting her lip anxiously.

It was a dream of the moment she fell for Ren. When she happened upon him in the gym, wrapping his hands. He looked up at her, so bright in her eyes, so proud.

Only this time, he was older. The current Ren rather than the elementary school one. And this time, he was smiling and laughing with Ann, proudly showing her his wrapped hands. No matter how much Kaname shouted, he couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t see her. He and Ann walked away, hand in hand, and Kaname couldn’t follow. 

She was left alone, in a cold and empty gym.

Last year had been tolerable because she knew he was coming back. And, like Ren, spite and anger towards the people who abandoned him kept her going. When she learned he was going to stay in Tokyo, she hadn’t hesitated for a second in her decision to follow him. Ren was the only one who _saw_ her. He was the only person she felt she needed. But there were so many people here, filling his heart. It felt like there wasn’t space for her, even if she was right nearby. But, Kamakura wasn’t the same without him either.

The bullying was annoying, at most. Kaname was a tough girl. But, it was a reminder of the fact that she just didn’t know where she belonged anymore.

She rinsed her glass out and headed back upstairs. Before going back to bed, she reached into the top drawer of her desk, pulling out a rolled up hand-wrap. She clutched it in her hands like a talisman as she tried to get back to sleep. The roll of fabric was fraying on the edges and the color was quite faded. It was old; too old to use anymore. But the permanent marker on it still clearly delineated the owner of the item:

‘Amamiya’.

>>>

“Seriously!? Amamiya-senpai’s at the top again! Even though he’s actively boxing! Can you believe it, Mayu-chan?” A girl with black hair and red highlights pointed at the bulletin boards where the exam scores were posted.

“That’s pretty impressive, Yu-chan.” Replied her friend, a bespectacled girl with short, black hair. Her name was Mayumi Tanizawa.

The first girl, Yuka Sakaki nodded. “It’s incredible. He’s already 3-0 on the year, too.” She let out a sigh that was a mix of awe and hopeless pining. “It’s totally unfair that he already has a girlfriend.”

But, Yuka knew - high school romances always _felt_ like ‘forever’, but were often over in a flash. And she was determined to be there, and available, should things fall apart between the boxer and the model. She had fallen for him the day that she saw him at the opening ceremony for the year, with his intense grey stare, his charming smile, and his beautiful voice.

“Excuse me.” _That_ voice.

Yuka whirled, about to stammer out an apology - only to come face to face with _both_ Ren Amamiya and Ann Takamaki. Specifically, Ann Takamaki riding piggyback on Ren Amamiya.

“S-s-senpai!”

Mayumi sighed, just bowing politely and dragging her friend aside.

Ren smiled gratefully. He then reached forward with a hand, tracing his finger down the list of names. Ann looked thoroughly embarrassed, but the boxer wasn’t letting her other leg go.

“Ah. There you are!” Ren grinned.

Yuka stared blankly at Ren. That beautiful smile again.

“I think you’re too used to trying to find yourself in the middle of the pack, Songbird. When’s the last time you had an average in the upper third?”

“ _Barely_ in the upper third.” Ann mumbled, glancing from side to side as people gawked at her and Ren. “Can I get down, now?”

“You were the one complaining that you couldn’t see the board from the back. And congrats. I knew you could do it.”

“I had to! You and Makoto looked like you were going to get results out of me and Ryuji or kill us trying! Makoto says that Ryuji’s _still_ having nightmares of you and Makoto force-feeding him paper with math equations written on them.”

“It worked, though.” Ren pointed. “Look. He didn’t fail anything. And with those grades, he actually stands a chance of getting into a decent teaching program.”

“Fine.” She shifted. “...If you’re not going to put me down, can we at least, you know… leave?”

“Ah, sure.” Ren abruptly turned, cantering down the hall. “Elite student Takamaki coming through!”

“Ren!” Ann shouted, horrified but laughing as her boyfriend galloped away.

Yuka watched, almost fuming with jealousy. “I wish I could do something about _her_ , too. But Amamiya-senpai wouldn’t stand for it. And everyone knows what Takamaki-senpai’s been through.”

“Yuka…” Mayumi sighed. “Don’t you think it’s time to stop?”

Yuka’s expression turned ugly as one of her classmates approached Ren.

“Hey, Renpai. Can I get a ride, too? I was in the top fifteen for my year!”

“Kaname, there’s no room! What are you--”

A cut-off shriek and laughter followed.

Yuka clenched her jaw. “No. I don’t think it’s time to stop at _all_ , Mayu-chan.”

>>>

At the end of the day, Yuka headed to the shoe lockers to do her usual misdeeds. It was always easier on Saturdays - it was usually a shorter day compared to the rest of the week, and the students were eager to leave quickly and start their weekends. That, or they were off to club and team activities. She went to Kaname Takeda’s locker.

_‘No shoes. Looks like she’s finally smartened up.’_

That was fine. Yuka had a solution for this, too.

She reached into her bag, taking out a pack of cigarettes. She tossed it into the locker, as well as a few receipts from a nearby love hotel.

With a little smirk, she left for the faculty office to find a teacher.

>>>

“Well. That’s just vicious.” Ren shook his head as he and Ann watched Yuka leave the lockers from just around the corner. “I had no idea.”

“I had suspicions.” Ann said, sighing. “Girls bully differently from boys, usually. You’re used to direct confrontation, Wildcard. You probably dealt with it in juvie, not to mention when Yamada was still trying to beat you into submission. Boys fight. Girls… girls make up rumors. They isolate. They sabotage and humiliate. Physical stuff happens, but usually only when it _really_ escalates.”

Ann and Ren walked over to the lockers. Ann pulled out the cigarettes, throwing them in the trash. She then looked disgustedly at the receipts, throwing them away as well. “You should see the things she and the other girls that she’s convinced posted online, before I got Futaba to take them all down.”

Ren frowned. “What’s her name?”

“Yuka Sakaki’s the ringleader. She’s actually in Kaname’s class, which is probably where it started.”

“I should go talk to her.” Ren said, grimly.

Ann shook her head. “That’s the worst thing you could do. She’ll just act like Kaname sicced you on her, and make herself look like the victim.”

“Then what should I do? I can’t just sit around.” Ren said. “She’s like my little sister, Songbird. She followed me here for _me_ , and--”

“That’s exactly it, Wildcard.” Ann said, gently. She squeezed his hand. “She’s direct, almost to a fault. She isn’t telling you for a reason. Probably because she doesn’t want to worry you. Probably because she knew that you’d blame yourself. Just like you’re doing now… if you just charge in the way you want to, Kaname will feel awful.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We just need to be there for her when she’s ready to talk.” Ann stretched, glancing over Ren’s shoulder. “Kaname’s a strong, prideful girl. But she’s smart. You should have faith in her. Eventually she’ll realize that you’re here for her, even if your life is different now. And she’ll realize that the entire boxing team loves her, even if they’re terrified of her. And have you noticed? Kaoru, Futaba, and Tomoko keep trying to reach out to her. All she has to do is see it and accept that there’s people in her corner.”

Ren sighed. “I don’t know…”

“ _I_ know.” Ann said, patting Ren’s cheek. “I was there, remember? I had the benefit of the Phantom Thieves changing Kamoshida’s heart, but the most important thing was that you, Shiho, Ryuji, and Mona were all there for me. Come on. We should go. You need to get to practice, don’t you? And I want to do some training with you guys today.”

As they left, Ann looked over her shoulder.

Ren noticed, starting to look back. “Something wrong?”

“Ah, no.” Ann said, catching his attention. “Just making sure that Sakaki didn’t overhear us or see us.”

As they left, Kaname stepped out of _her_ hiding spot. The boxing team’s manager slash coach had the idea to lie in wait for the person messing with her locker. She was preparing to step out to confront Yuka when Ann and Ren had appeared. Ren hadn’t noticed her; but the blonde girl had looked in _just_ the right spot.

Ann’s words had been for Kaname.

_‘...People in my corner, huh…?’_

>>>

The three-minute buzzer sounded in the Shujin boxing gym. The ten boxers (plus Ann) ceased their shadow-boxing.

“Right. We’re done, Shujin!” Kaname called out. “Pack it up. Veterans, you get a longer break this time. Two weeks. Don’t fuck up your weight and train hard!”

“Yes Coach!”

The team started putting away their gear. Kaname ended up beside Ann; the two of them coiled and tied skipping ropes. Neither of them said a word. Ann looked over at Kaoru; Munehisa Iwai’s son had just put his glasses back on, but was suddenly ambushed by both Futaba and Tomoko. The two girls were in the AV club and had finished at the same time as the boxing team. They were now playfully peppering Kaoru’s shoulders with jabs, laughing.

Kaname followed Ann’s line of sight, before looking at Ann.

The blonde still said nothing. She finished with the skipping ropes, placing them in their box - she took the box before Kaname could. Her eyes met Kaname’s before she looked again over at the three first year students.

Kaname sighed, with a resigned smile. “Thanks, Ann.”

“They’re just skipping ropes, Kaname.” Ann said, shrugging nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal.”

“...Heh. I guess so.” Kaname said. She stood up as Ann and Ren took care of the remaining chores and approached Kaoru, Futaba, and Tomoko.

Futaba perked up. “Ah! A wild Kaname has appeared. Want to go and get some bubble tea?”

“You shouldn’t drink your calories.” Kaname replied automatically.

“But they’re _really_ tasty calories.” Tomoko laughed.

“Just this once, Coach?” Kaoru grinned.

“...Fine. Let’s go.”

>>>

“You really liked the movie, huh?” Ann asked Ren. They were sitting down for a late dinner at Jonathan’s, after watching an evening screening of _‘Your Name’_ at a movie theatre in Shibuya.

Ren wiped at his eyes with his napkin. “Y-yeah. Sorry. It’s dusty here, too.”

“Mm. Right.” Ann smiled softly. “And in the movie theatre, and on the street afterward…”

Ren started to pout.

Ann giggled. “I’m not making fun of you, Wildcard. I like this side of you. It’s cute.”

The boxer laughed. Somehow, that made it alright. “Then, yeah. I really liked it. I’m glad it had a happy ending, though. It was a nice break after exams and my last fight.”

Ann nodded. “Mmhm! Between boxing, modeling, and exams, it feels like we haven’t had an actual date in ages.”

Ren paused, studying his girlfriend. He took hold of her hand on the table between them, squeezing before intertwining his fingers with hers. The first two months of school had been amazing so far, even if they were busy. 

“You’re staring, Wildcard.” Ann reached over, lightly poking his nose. “Not that I mind.”

“Mm. Sorry. Just happy.”

“Good. Oh. Did you get a chance to talk to Ohya-san?”

Ren nodded. He managed to catch Ohya at his part time job at Crossroads, though the journalist was thankfully no longer in the habit of trying to drink herself to death.

“She gave me a few university programs I should look into.” Ren said. “Most of them are in and around Tokyo.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a handwritten list. He slid it across the table to Ann. “I circled the most likely candidates.”

“Keio… Waseda… _Todai_?!” Ann gasped. “Ren… these are some of the most selective schools in Japan, never mind the city!”

Ren sighed. He was aware, and Ohya had almost exactly the same reaction when he informed her of his preliminary choices. “They’re also the only schools that have decent boxing teams _and_ a journalism program. If I do well this year on the circuit, I might be able to get in on a letter. But all three schools still require at least a passing grade on the entrance exam, even if I get in on recommendation. I’ve got a lot of studying ahead of me.”

“Does this mean you aren’t going pro?”

“Keeping my options open, Songbird. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do. My plan for now is to get into a university with a decent journalism program and boxing team, and do collegiate boxing until I decide to make the jump to pro. And if I don’t go pro, at least I’ll have a degree.”

“You’re not usually indecisive.” Ann noted.

“I know.” Ren sighed. He had a vague idea of why he was holding back. He didn’t have to be a pro boxer to challenge Mamoru Yamanaka. He had the sense that the enigmatic boxer would readily agree to a serious match against Ren, whether it was in the pro ring or in a gym somewhere. But the most direct path to becoming strong enough to face down the ‘Left Hand of God’ was through pro boxing. In the professional world, he’d find stronger opponents; he’d be forced to adapt, to grow faster than he would otherwise.

But the risks were much, much higher as well.

Ren looked at Ann; she smiled at him.

And now, he had much more to lose.

“Well… Whatever you decide, I’ll support you. You know that.” Ann nodded.

Ann’s phone, on the table with Ren’s, buzzed.

Ren glanced over at it before she could pick it up. Although the screen was locked, the notifications were set so that Ann could read at least short texts without unlocking the device.

 **ET:** **Hi, Kei-chan! We’re going to be home next week as scheduled! Can’t wait to finally meet that boy of yours. Dinner on the 27th at our place, right? Amamiya-kun can make it, right?**

Ren blinked. “...Oh! Your parents are finally going to be in town?” He smiled. “That’s great. I don’t have a fight next week, so… ….Songbird?”

Ann was slightly pale. She looked stricken as she stared down at her phone, then back up at Ren.

“Uhm… Wildcard. There’s something you should know. You know how I told you my parents are fashion designers, and the owners of et^2?”

Ren nodded. “Yes. That boutique line. Are they not?”

“No. No, they are. Mom, especially. She does most of the actual design work for the clothing and accessories. Daddy, he handles more of the business side of things. And… ...uh, _logistics_.”

Ren cocked his head to the side. Ann was fidgeting a little, tapping the pads of her index fingers together.

“You seem awfully nervous about telling me this.” Ren said, starting to feel just a little unsettled by Ann’s behavior. He forced a little laugh. “I mean, come on. You’re saying ‘logistics’ like it’s a euphemism for security and espionage.”

Ren’s laughter died down as Ann appeared suddenly thoughtful.

“Well. Daddy’s never mentioned if he’s done any corporate espionage. He’s had to take care of a few moles, though…”

Ren felt a brief chill go down his spine. “...Songbird. What _exactly_ does your dad do?”

Ann’s eyes widened. “Fashion! Honestly, it’s like I said. It’s… uh… It’s just that the business can be a bit cutthroat. And you know how I mentioned that I’m part Finnish, on Daddy’s side? Well. He’s _kind of_ a Finnish citizen originally. And he _kind of_ went back to Finland after college, because they have a compulsory draft--”

The chill down Ren’s spine became a cold pit in his stomach. “...Your dad’s ex-military? He’s a conscript?!”

“Oh! No, not at all.” Ann shook her head.

Ren sighed in relief.

“He _volunteered_.”

“Wait. What?”

Ann explained. Elias Takamaki was indeed a Finnish citizen. But he didn’t just serve his requisite time in the military as a conscript. He served as part of the Special _Jaeger_ Company of the _Utti Jaeger_ Regiment, Finland’s Special Forces unit. They were at the peak of physical fitness and combat readiness. And on top of that, one wasn’t conscripted into this unit. First, they had to volunteer to join the regiment. And then they had to volunteer _again_ to join the company.

So it seemed that Elias Takamaki was 190cm and 90kg of Japanese-Finnish fighting machine, who might have actually given Tachibana a run for her money when he was at his peak.

And apparently, he loved his daughter. _Dearly_.

Ren coughed uncomfortably. “...It’s uh… it’s kinda weird that a guy like that hasn’t come back to see his daughter. I mean, you’d think I would have met your parents already.”

Ann rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh… about that.”

Ren shook his head slowly. “ _What_ …?”

“They _did_ come back once.” Ann said, slowly. “Around New Year’s. You were…”

“...in jail. Do they know that I was in jail?”

“...Yes?” Ann said, almost apologetically.

Ren groaned. “So the first thing that your parents, including your stern, special forces father, learned about me is that I was in juvi when they tried to meet me the first time.”

“...Actually, you were in Fuchu at the time. The adult prison.” Ann said.

“That’s not better!” Ren facepalmed, groaning again. “When were you going to tell me all of this, exactly?”

“Well, look at it from my perspective. How do you just walk up and say something like ‘BTW, Wildcard. Daddy’s an ex-special forces soldier who’s feeling really protective of me, especially after finding out that a _teacher_ tried to assault me and my best friend.’?” Ann sighed. “It took me awhile to figure out how I was going to tell you about him. And about dinner on the 27th. I didn’t plan on you finding out like this.”

“What _was_ the plan?”

“Well, originally I was going to seduce you, and then tell you when you were half-asleep in the afterglow.”

Ren blinked. “Yeah. That would have been better.” With a sigh, he slumped, his forehead resting on the table.

Ann stroked his hair. “It’s going to be fine. I told them that your name was cleared, and Mom’s super-enthusiastic to meet you. She read that article in _Boxing Fan_ from last year, and she thinks you’re cute.”

“And your dad?”

“Daddy… Well. Uhm… he agreed to at least meet you?”

Ren groaned for the third time, quite theatrically. He peeked at Ann for her reaction.

Ann raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Are you really freaking out, or are you just hoping that I’ll still try and seduce you?”

“...yes.”

>>>

May 21, 20xx 

Ren sat on his couch on Sunday afternoon, accompanied only by Morgana. His expression was grim and his shoulders tight. The tension in the air was a magnitude higher than any of the heists they performed last year.

“Ren… are… are you sure you need to train like this?” Mona meowed, tail almost thrashing with anxiety. 

“Absolutely.” Ren said. “I can’t do much else to get ready for this kind of fight.”

“It’s hard to believe Ann-dono’s dad would be so scary that you’d even consider doing this.” Mona said. “I mean… Is this even _legal_?”

“Technically not.” Ren intoned, seriously. He reached across the table, taking hold of the bottle of sake leftover from the celebration of his release from Tama.

 _‘Seriously, don’t worry. We’ll get you some new clothes and dress you up, Wildcard. Just be your normal, charming self. ...Er, there is_ **_one_ ** _thing, though. If Daddy starts to like you, he’ll probably offer you a little drink. Either vodka or bourbon. It’s a cultural thing, but you don’t have to.’_

Ren sighed. His Achilles’ Heel. He frowned. But this was trainable. He could overcome this.

He poured a cup of sake, around a double.

_‘ABV of sake is usually 18-20%... vodka and bourbon around double that. So this is how much I need to be able to handle if I want to have one drink with Ann’s father without making an ass of myself.’_

Ren lifted the cup, wafting the scent. His head already felt a bit fainter.

_‘No. Man up, Amamiya.’_

He drank the sake in a single shot.

Mona watched Ren nervously. During the celebration, a single small pour had made the boxer utterly useless, to the point where he had to be dragged upstairs and put to bed.

Ren smiled at Mona. “See? I’m fine. Totally ffffine. Fine. F…”

Ren collapsed forward, his head and face fortunately cushioned by his forearms. He snored noisily. Mona jumped up, bristling.

“!! Ren?! Ren!”

>>>

May 22, 20xx 

“Haha… that’s pretty sad, bro.” Ryuji said, grinning. “I still can’t believe that a double put you down for the day.”

“I _know_. You’ve been saying that all day.” Ren sighed. Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Makoto were all hanging out after school in the college freshman’s apartment.

“Heh heh. Anyway, RenRen. I think your mistake was trying to do nothing _but_ drink. You need to have some snacks first. And if you’re playin’ games and stuff, you’re less focused on how it affects you, right?”

Makoto sighed, placing a few cans of beer alongside the snacks on the table of her small one bedroom apartment. “You know, technically we’re all underage.”

“Aw, come on.” Ryuji grinned at Makoto. “It’s for a good cause. And you know those laws aren’t _really_ enforced.”

“None of you are having more than _one_.” Makoto glared.

“Thanks, Makoto.” Ann said, before turning to Ren. “You know you don’t have to do this, right? I told you it isn’t that important.”

Ren shook his head. He picked up the controller for the Switch as Ryuji loaded up Mario Kart. “I don’t want to refuse a drink from your dad, Songbird. It’s impolite. And it’s kind of a guy thing.”

Ann rolled her eyes at that. “Fine. I’m _not_ dealing with you after, though.”

Ren smiled confidently. He wasn’t on an empty stomach, and the distraction of the gaming console would likely help.

“I’ll be fine.”

>>>

May 23, 20xx 

“So Ann had to drag the Champ home like a sedated monkey, and then when they got there he was all over her, like a _horny_ sedated monkey. And then before he could even make it worth her while, he fell asleep on the floor of her living room.” Shiho grinned. “And that’s why she didn’t come with us today.”

“Yes…” Ren sighed. “Thanks for filling them in, Shiho.”

“Oh, my. This is quite a gap for you, isn’t it, Ren-kun?” Haru suppressed a laugh as she took a seat across from Ren and Shiho. They were in her living room in the Okumura estate.

“Indeed. It is rather surprising.” Yusuke said. He chuckled. “It seems as though Ren is still a _lightweight_ class boxer after all.”

Even Ren laughed at the wordplay. He shook his head with another sigh. “So, Yusuke. You had an idea?”

“Ah! Yes. I was thinking perhaps that your approach has been wrong. You’ve tried simply _dominating_ the alcohol. And then you tried _distracting_ yourself from it. My thought was that you should try _understanding_ the very essence of it.”

Shiho grinned, nudging Ren. “Dis gonna be good.”

Ren ignored Shiho despite his better judgement. “So…”

Haru nodded gratefully as Tachibana entered the room with a bottle of wine, already uncorked. She poured a single glass, putting it on the coffee table. “Thank you, Rui-san.”

Ren reached for the glass hesitantly. He paused at Yusuke’s sharp gesture.

“Not yet, Ren! First, appreciate the _shape_ of the glass. Note how the wine _becomes_ the glass, taking on the subtle curves. The reflections in the glass cause an interplay between your cognition and…”

Shiho moved to sit beside Haru as the artist stood, making progressively grander gestures while he continued to monologue. For once, Ren actually paid close attention, so desperate was he for any help. She whispered. “Da Vinci hasn’t ever had a drink in his life, has he?”

Haru smiled. “Not that I know.”

Shiho watched as Ren, under Yusuke’s instruction, stood up and posed like a wine glass. She took out her phone.

>>>

May 24, 20xx 

“nnn… don’t wanna be a wine glassh anymore. Wanna be a unicorn. Preeeettty unicorn...”

Shiho grinned, stopping the video. “And I’ve got really cute pictures of the Champ asleep on Yusuke. He fell over onto him, and Da Vinci couldn’t push him off…”

Ann shook her head. They were seated at LeBlanc; Ren was behind the counter, working a shift for Sojiro.

“This isn’t getting better.”

“No, but it’s getting funnier.” Shiho said, laughing. “The best part is that he doesn’t even get enough in him cause any actual damage. I told Takemi-sensei, and she wants to study him. She thinks that if she can replicate the effect with pharmaceuticals, she might come up with a cure for alcoholism.”

Ann snickered.

The door to opened - Kaname and Futaba filed in.

“Renpai, I heard everything from Futaba. I think you’ve been going about this the wrong way.”

Ren sighed. “Look, Kana-chan. I’ve already decided that I need to give this up. I—“

“Is that any way for a Takeda boxer to act?! Are you backing down from a fight?!” Kaname snapped. “What would dad think? Look.”

Kaname held out a bag of wrapped candies.

“Chocolate liquer…?”

“Yep. There’s hardly anything in it.” Kaname said. “We need to approach this weakness of yours with training principles. In this case, progressive overload. You’ve been massively overestimating your starting tolerance, which is probably less than zero. _No one_ can get drunk off these. I did the research. You’d have to eat like two kilograms.”

“I don’t know about this.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“Trust me. No one’s this hopeless.”

>>>

“I was wrong. Totally hopeless.” Kaname grunted, dragging Ren up the stairs to the attic. She had him under by his arms.

“Ugh. Yeah…” Ann grumbled, helping from the other end. She held him by his ankles.

“Huh. Really hard to move someone around when they’re passed out like that.” Shiho snapped a few pictures to document the occasion. “Sorta like moving around a sack of loose meat, no matter how fit they are.”

“You could help a little, Shiho!”

“I did. I suggested we not try the chocolate liquers until we, I dunno… _got him upstairs_.” Shiho shrugged. “I hate to say I told you so-- actually, no. Pretty happy to say I told you so.” Shiho grinned.

They reached the top of the stairs. Kaname and Ann heaved the boxer onto his bed. He flopped almost bonelessly to the mattress, snoring noisily. Kaname walked over, starting immediately to divest him of his clothes.

“Seriously, Kaname?”

“What? This is purely for medical purposes.” The violet-haired trainer said, innocently.

“I concur.” Shiho walked over, starting to work on his shirt.

“ _Neither_ of you is an unbiased, objective medical professional. Get out. I’ll look after him.” Ann snapped. She put a hand on Shiho’s shoulder, dragging her back.

Kaname sighed. “Fine. Make sure he gets some water when he wakes up, Ann.”

At the mention of her name, Ren mumbled and smiled.

“Mmn… Songbirb.”

Kaname rolled her eyes. “Figures that he’d only respond to _you_. I’m out.” She and Shiho left.

Ann sat down beside Ren, sighing. She stroked his hair. Ren murmured again, reaching and grasping her hand.

_‘...Hm. He does seem to be more conscious when it’s me…’_

>>>

May 25, 20xx

“Wildcard? You almost done?” Ann called from the living room.

Ren stuffed another spare shirt he had stashed in Ann’s room into his gym bag before stepping out and joining his girlfriend in her family’s apartment. Ann’s parents were due to arrive in Tokyo on the 26th, so Ren and Ann were busily erasing any trace that the two young lovers spent ‘quality time’ together in the Takamaki residence.

“I think I got everything.” Ren said, holding out his bag.

Ann looked through the contents, nodding. She paused, glancing at Ren before withdrawing a hoodie. “This one’s mine.”

“It’s obviously not. It’s… Oh.” Ren smiled in recognition. It was the hoodie he had been wearing last year, the night where he walked Ann home from Shinoda’s, after clearing the air with Reiko. The night where they first made love. He watched as Ann hugged the sweater to her face. To his surprise, the girl frowned in slight disapproval. Ren’s puzzlement only grew when she held it out to him.

“Can you wear it for awhile?”

“Sure. Why?” Ren pulled the hoodie. As he finished tugging it on, he was met with a tight hug from the blonde.

“Because I washed it, and it doesn’t smell like you anymore.” Ann mumbled into the fabric of the sweater. “With my parents home, you won’t be able to come over as much. I want the sweater to remind me of you as much as possible, so I won’t be as lonely.”

Ren’s heartstrings were tugged at the plaintive tone of her voice. The effect was only amplified when she peered up at him through her long lashes.

“Ah. Songbird…” Ren kissed her. “You can come over to stay with me as much as you want.”

Ann chuckled. She let go of Ren, plopping down on the couch. “I can only have so many ‘sleepovers with Shiho’ in a week, you know?”

“Well, there’s also Makoto, Futaba, Haru…” Ren said, hopefully. “Though I doubt your dad’s going to want to let you out of his sight, regardless of who you’re supposedly staying with.”

“Hah. He isn’t really _that_ scary _._ ” Ann glanced over at the garment bag that held the outfit she picked out for Ren. “It’ll be fine. You don’t have to prepare anything. I know the alcohol tolerance thing didn’t work out, but seriously. It’s not that important.”

Ren sat down beside Ann, draping an arm around her shoulders. “I know. Really, I do. It’s just really important for me to make a good impression. Your parents are going to be a big part of my life too, right? And the fact that the first thing he found out about me was that I was in prison is a bit unfortunate.”

“Well, technically it wasn’t the _first_ thing he learned about you. He also read that _Boxing Fan_ article last year. So the first thing he learned was that you’re a boxer with a criminal record.” Ann chirped.

Ren laughed in spite of himself. “Funny.” He sighed. “I think the reason I got so crazy with the alcohol tolerance and wanting to be able to share a drink with your dad was more out of stress management than anything else. I just had to do _something_. I mean… there’s nothing else I can do to prepare for this. It’s like going into a fight not knowing anything about my opponent. All I can do is imagine the worst and stress about things.”

Ann looked thoughtful. “Well, Wildcard. There’s one more thing we could try. Hang on…”

She stood, retrieving a glass tumbler from the kitchen and a small bottle.

“...Are you serious?!” Ren read the label, shaking his head. “That’s straight up _bourbon_ . Based on the results of this past week, I could pass out from even being in the _same room_ as that.”

Ann poured out a double of the honey-colored liquid into the glass. She looked at Ren. “Do you trust me, Wildcard?”

“Implicitly. But this is crazy. I had to be dragged upstairs from eating _chocolate liquers_. You just poured a double…”

He trailed off, watching curiously as Ann picked up the glass. She sat down beside him, taking a small sip.

“Ann? What are you--”

She turned to him, suddenly pressing her lips to his.

Ren’s eyes widened in surprise - first at the kiss, and then second, at the notes of caramel and vanilla on her tongue as she deepened the kiss. The flavors of the bourbon gave way to a pleasant heat that rose to his neck and cheeks, only partly from the alcohol.

Ann pulled away, her face only centimetres away from his. Her cheeks were rosy; her eyes sparkled a little in the warm light of the apartment. She stroked his cheek, smiling at him.

“How do you feel? Awake? Or do you feel like passing out?” She asked, quietly. She was more _on_ him than beside him, now, her slender body a pleasant weight on his lap and chest.

“Awake. Very awake. Are you going to keep me that way…?” Ren said, leaning in again. A finger lighted on his lips, forestalling his movement.

With a mischievous glint in her gaze, Ann took another small sip before kissing him again. More passionate, more insistent than the last. It left them both breathless; Ren’s hand trailed down her spine. Ann shivered, kissing his cheek, then whispering into his ear. Her voice, silky smooth, drew matching shivers up _and_ down his back.

“If you can stay awake for the entire glass, Wildcard, I’ll reward you.” She practically purred. “Might be our last night alone for awhile. Is that motivation enough?”

>>>

May 27, 20xx 

The bell rang at Shujin, signalling the end of morning classes and the start of the lunch break. Kaname stood up, carefully packing her school bag before leaving her empty desk behind. As usual, she left the classroom alone without a word from any of her classmates.

Yuka bit her lip in frustration. “Tch. Looks like Takeda’s learned. And my trick with her locker didn’t work out very well.”

Mayumi sighed. “Yu-chan… I really think it’s time to stop this. I went along with it at first because you’ve been my friend since elementary school, and even I thought it was annoying how she clung to Amamiya-senpai. But we found out she’s his childhood friend, remember? And when you told me about the cigarettes, and those receipts… You could have gotten her expelled! If you were caught, you _definitely_ would have been expelled. Don’t you remember the first day? They told us they were going to be strict about bullying and abuse this year!”

“So what? It’s not _fair_.”

“You keep saying that! What’s not fair? It’s not like she has a chance with him, either! This isn’t _you_ , Yu-chan.” Mayumi said, shaking her head. “You’re not acting like you were last year--”

“I’m _not_ going back to how I was last year!” Yuka snapped. “If you were really my friend, you’d understand that.”

Mayumi sighed. She stood. “...I’m your friend, Yu-chan. Really, I am. But I can’t be part of this anymore. When you’re ready to talk… I’ll be there. Just… just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Whatever.” Yuka waved a hand dismissively. Mayumi left.

Yuka stared out the window as Kaname Takeda exited the building, where she was met by three other first-year students from class 3A. Yuka’s attempt to isolate her was failing, apparently. And when she dropped by the girl’s shoe locker again, one of the teachers - Kawakami - just _happened_ to be nearby. She was pretty sure that the girl didn't snitch - Takeda didn’t seem the type - but she couldn’t take the risk anymore. It seemed that Takeda had people looking out for her.

 _‘It really isn’t fair.’_ Yuka groused. For Yuka, Shujin was supposed to be a fresh start. In middle school, she was unpopular and unattractive. She was bullied frequently, and even when she reinvented herself, she couldn’t shake her reputation. When she entered Shujin she was cute and pretty - at least, compared to the average. So when she saw Ren Amamiya, instantly developing a crush on the boxer, she thought - maybe - she would have a chance.

Until she set eyes on Ann Takamaki, a literal model. And when Yuka saw how his eyes lit up on seeing his girlfriend, how his smile became even more dazzling… She knew that she had to settle for admiring him from afar. That was fine.

But Takeda…

_‘Renpai!’_

_‘Oh, hey, Kana-chan--Whoa! What’s with the hug?’_

_‘Heh. Just happy we’re in the same school again.’_

_‘Me too, Kana-chan -- Songbird? Why are you glaring?’_

Takeda got to just waltz into the life of the third year student just like that. She was so petite, so cute, and she just _hugged_ him like it was nothing at all. Even though she was a freshman, and even though Yuka had been through so much.

Yuka took out her phone.

She knew she wasn’t the only one who was okay with this. If Mayumi wouldn’t help her… others would.

>>>

“Kana-chan!”

Kaname blinked, looking up from her beeline to the Shujin boxing gym. The only people in Tokyo who called her by that name were Shiho and Ren, and that was certainly _not_ either of them. She spotted Tomoko, waving happily at her. Kaname recognized the friend of Futaba and Kaoru; they met the other day when they went for bubble tea.

“Ah… Hi, Yoshida-san.”

Tomoko stopped in front of Kaname, apparently completely nonplussed by the looks they were getting from some other first year students, in particular ones from 3B.

“Want to join us for lunch?”

Kaname frowned, about ready to decline out of reflex and pride.

_‘All she has to do is see it and accept that there’s people in her corner.’_

“...Sure. Where are we going, Yoshida-san?”

“No need to be so formal, Kana-chan! Tomoko is fine. Or Tomo-chan.” She paused to shoot a glare right back at a girl giving them the stink-eye before turning to Kaname. “In the boxing gym, actually. Kaoru-kun and Futaba-chan are already there.”

“Why?”

“Kaoru-kun noticed that you always spend your breaks doing chores for the boxing team. He thought it’d go faster if we helped.”

“Oh…”

They headed to the gym. Kaoru and Futaba worked fast, apparently - most of the work was done. Futaba was on her computer, busily typing away. She looked up, a melon bread bun in her mouth as she worked.

“Mmph Kmana-chan! Mmh ffn fn!”

Tomoko grinned. She walked over, taking the bun out of Futaba’s mouth. “Try again, Futaba-chan.”

“Ehehe. Hey, Kana-chan. Come here and have a look. I’m making a website for the team.”

Kaname started walking over; she paused though, looking over at Kaoru. The young man with rectangular rimless glasses black hair was intently wrapping up his hands, practicing the way he’d been shown. His brow was furrowed in concentration.

Abruptly, he looked up - both finishing, and also noticing Kaname’s approach. He grinned broadly and held his hand up.

“Look, Coach! I did it!”

Kaname froze to the spot. For a split second, she saw an elementary-aged boy with tousled, unruly hair. A brilliant smile.

_‘Kana-chan! I did it! Look, look!’_

Tomoko laughed. “Do you really have to call her Coach even now, Kaoru-kun? We’re not at practice, and we’re all friends here.”

“Eh, it seems a bit weird to just call her Kana-chan--”

“...It’s fine.” Kaname mumbled.

“...Sorry?” Kaoru asked.

Kaname clenched her fists as an unfamiliar heat rose to her cheeks. She stalked over to Kaoru, grabbing his wrist roughly as she examined the way he wrapped his hands. “I said it’s fine to call me Kana-chan, Iwai! Are you deaf?!”

“Er, yes! I mean, no!” Kaoru stammered.

Kaname rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She dropped his hand. “Based on what you’ve shown me in practice, you’ll need to add another layer over your knuckles. You punch surprisingly hard for your weight.”

Kaoru smiled at the praise. “Thanks, Kana-chan--”

Kaname flicked his forehead. “You call me Coach during practice and any boxing related things. I’m teaching you boxing right now, aren’t I?”

“Yes Coach!” Kaoru snapped. He still grinned, though.

Kaname sighed, returning the smile.

“Good work, Kaoru-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erika and Elias - Elias probably started out as more impassive, but Ann is her mother's daughter. Erika's worn him down (in a good way), so he'll actually use terms of endearment more frequently than the stereotypical Finn.
> 
> ‘Three Princes’ of Shujin - Ren, Ryuji, and a player-to-be-named-later :P
> 
> Ren and Ann are probably/definitely way more demonstrative than the usual Japanese couple. But having shot a god in the face has kinda changed their perspective on how to live to the fullest :P
> 
> Utti Jaeger Regiment - Some artistic liberties taken here regarding having to volunteer twice. Not the physical fitness requirement though. See wikipedia if you're interested. These guys are badasses o.O;
> 
> Alcohol laws in Japan - badly enforced, from what I recall. Even if not true, for the purposes of GtD, badly enforced. The booze thing I admit is mildly OOC for the PT crew, but it was too much fun for me to not write it
> 
> The whole alcohol tolerance thing I introduced way back in 'Sunday Punch' was to set up this week of 'training', haha. And the week of 'training' was set up for the last bit with Ann. Reference here is to a scene in a little-known guilty pleasure manga called "Coffee and Vanilla", though the roles are reversed.
> 
> Kaname/Bullying - Hard to write this until I gave the villain some actual context. Like most bullies, Yuka was herself bullied. Doesn't make it right. It's a reason, not an excuse. Was also hard because it took me back to my formative years where I actually had to deal with this crap.
> 
> Kaoru - Appearance based off how he looked in Mementos Mission. Minimiya is a featherweight class boxer, for those interested.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren finally meets the parents, but finds out that some decisions are best made when sober. Ryuji and Makoto learn about the legendary 'kabe-don'. Sojiro gets ambushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some terminology/reminders:
> 
> Southpaw: right arm/foot forward stance in boxing, setting up the left hand to be the 'power' hand for crosses.
> 
> 'Hitman' stance: Left hand slightly down instead of at the chin, not really a real thing in actual boxing, but a bigger deal in Hajime no Ippo.
> 
> Kei-chan: Takamaki family nickname for Ann (first words was 'keiki' (cake)
> 
> Bakemono: monster
> 
> Bachan: Grandma. Nickname for Yui, Ann's nanny/caretaker. Not biologically related, has her own kids/grandkids, but considers Ann one of hers.
> 
> kulta: Elias' pet name for Erika.
> 
> kabe-don: dramatic wallslam, used in shoujo frequently. Google it if you're curious
> 
> Hana yori dango: Dango(dumplings) before flowers. A Japanese proverb that means you value substance over style.
> 
> Lehmät lentää: 'Cows fly'. Finnish idiom meant to express disbelief
> 
> Switch-hitter (boxing): someone who can switch between orthodox and southpaw readily

May 27, 20xx 

“And he’s done it again! Garcia goes down! Another flawless title defense by The Left Hand of God, Mamoru Yamanaka, the reigning world champion!”

The Shujin boxing club crowded around Futaba’s laptop in the gym at the conclusion of practice, seated on the floor. To drive home a few points, Ren and Kaname asked her to bring up a video of Yamanaka’s most recent title defense.

“Wow. So that’s what southpaw boxing looks like…” Kaoru murmured. “It looked like the challenger had a lot of problems handling him.”

“That’s true.” Ren nodded. “Most boxers fight orthodox, so it’s hard to get used to fighting southpaws.”

Eiji socked his fist into his palm. “So that’s it. If I want to do better against aniki, I should switch to southpaw.”

Kaname lightly tapped the top of the third year’s head with her shinai. “As if a flat-footed brawler like you could just switch over like that. And you’re extremely right-dominant, Aikawa. If you became a converted southpaw, you’d run the risk of being a one-armed boxer - someone who can only use their dominant arm in a fight.”

Shou grinned. “Isn’t that better than what he is now? He’s basically a _no-armed_ boxer.”

The group snickered as Eiji and Shou started shoving each other playfully.

“It’s true that Yamanaka-san’s southpaw stance is pretty much his trademark at this point.” Ren stood, taking his idol’s stance - it was almost a perfect mirror image to Ren’s preferred ‘Hitman’ stance. “But that isn’t why we’re showing you the video. The challenger wasn’t a slouch. Before running into Yamanaka-san, he had a 18-0 record, with 10 knockouts. Pro fighters at that level have large gaps between their matches, too, so he also had plenty of time to prepare. He probably rounded up as many southpaw opponents he could. If Yamanaka-san’s boxing was all about his stance, he’d have been beaten ages ago.”

Tomoko raised her hand. “Takeda-sensei!” She called, only half-joking. She had tagged along with Futaba. “Does it have to do with how the challenger seemed to hesitate a lot?”

“Good eye.” Kaname gestured at Kaoru. “Iwai. What did you see?”

Iwai frowned thoughtfully. “...Garcia didn’t take some openings, particularly the few times where he had a chance to step in and take the outside position. It’s almost like he was over-cautious.”

“That’s right.” Ren took his fighting stance again, switching from southpaw to orthodox. “It’s because in the first round, Yamanaka-san hit him with a _right straight_ . He switched to orthodox for one punch. After that happened, Garcia became extremely hesitant. Yamanaka-san is a switch hitter, and I can attest to the fact that he’s truly ambidextrous. His right _hurts_.”

The group felt some sympathy for Ann as Ren smiled giddily at the memory of sparring with Yamanaka.

“But there’s no way you’re asking us to do that, either.” Shou frowned.

Ren nodded. “That’s right. The main thing I want to get across is that the only reason why Yamanaka was able to exploit the hesitation and doubt he seeded in Garcia was his _conditioning_ . He wore him down into the later rounds and then took him apart when he was tired and unsure of himself. Mamoru Yamanaka is famous for a lot of things, but people gloss over the fact that he’s one of the best-conditioned athletes in the world. Not one of the best boxers - one of the best _athletes_ , period.”

Kaname stood up. Each member of the team immediately paled as they recognized her shift in mood. She pointed her shinai at the group of boxers.

“ _All_ of you jerks are lacking, with the exception of Renpai, Aikawa, and Kimura! From a technical skill standpoint, the beginners are going to be ready for the first inter-high tournament in June. But your fitness needs to be better! I won’t let a single one of you box until you’ve shaped up!”

Kaoru frowned. “But, Kana-ch--”

Kaname’s grip on her shinai tightened.

“--er, Coach Takeda. We’ve all been going to practice, just like the three veterans. So why would our conditioning be any different?”

“Do you really think _all_ they do is go to practice?” Kaname scoffed. “For the next week, I’ve assigned the beginners to follow one of the three veterans around for their personal training regimens. You’ll see what’s expected of you. No trading veterans. You get who you get. _If_ you survive to the end of the week, I’ll be giving each of you your own personalized routines.”

Kaname started pointing at the beginners, splitting them up.

“Iwai, you’re with Renpai. The rest of you, you’re split between Aikawa and Kimura.”

Kaoru grinned, happy enough that he was able to ignore the jealous looks from the other beginners - and not just the two girls among them.

Ren nodded at Kaoru. “We’ll start tomorrow, Kaoru.”

“Not tonight?”

“Ah, no.” Ren sighed. “I have somewhere to be.”

>>>

“Kei-chan! Are you ready yet?”

“Almost, Mom!” Ann called, standing in front of the vanity in her bathroom. She was already in her chosen outfit - a modest, navy blue dress. But she couldn’t quite decide what to do with her hairstyle.

She held her hair up in her trademark twintails, a fist on either side of her head. She frowned slightly; it didn’t quite go with her outfit.

 _‘Down is probably better.’_ Ann let her locks fall, quickly getting her hair in order. She nodded at her reflection. Ren would like this. Then again, he seemed to like _any_ look she came up with. Sometimes, it was hard to pin him down (figuratively) on what he liked best - so many of the things she tried seemed to make him want to pin _her_ down (literally).

Ann pushed those thoughts out of her mind. Hardly the right time to be thinking about _that_. She left her bathroom and bedroom. She opened the door to the surprised face of her mother.

Erika quickly took in the sight of her daughter, dressed up with her hair down. “...Oh!”

Ann blinked. “Mom…? Is something wrong?”

Erika shook her head, smiling. “No. You just surprised me, Kei-chan. I’ve never seen you dress up for a boy before. I had the sense that something was different when we got back yesterday, but you were already in your pyjamas by the time we got home.”

Despite the fact that she’d been in a committed relationship for nearly a year, now, Ann felt heat rise to her face. This was her mother, after all. 

“This isn’t for him. We’re having a nice dinner, aren’t we? And I haven’t seen you and Daddy since New Year’s…” Ann mumbled, averting her eyes.

Erika only smiled wider. She drew her daughter into a hug. “You can say whatever you want, Kei-chan. It doesn’t change the fact that girls in love always look prettier. I was your age once too, you know? And when I met your father, I… ...Oh, stop making that face.”

“You’re my _parents_.” Ann grinned. “I’m allowed to act grossed out when you talk about being all lovey-dovey with each other.”

Erika laughed, giving Ann another squeeze. “I’ve really missed you, Kei-chan. Go and check on your father, will you? I need to help Bachan with dinner.”

Ann walked down the hall to the office that her parents shared. The door was ajar; she pushed it open as she knocked softly.

“Daddy? Are you ready?”

Elias was seated at his desk. He looked up and turned his chair to face the door, smiling. “Ah, your mother always treats me like I’m the rate-limiting step. I’ve been ready for… …”

He paused as he fully took in the sight of his daughter. For a moment, it almost looked to Ann like he’d be struck physically.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no.” Elias stood, shaking his head. “I’m fine. Do Bachan and your mother need any help?”

Bachan’s voice floated down the hall, in a sing-song tone. “Set foot in here, Elias-san, and I’ll chop it off and add it to the soup~”

Elias blinked, chuckling. “Ears like a bat… She still hasn’t forgiven me for the last time I tried to cook.”

Ann giggled. “You _did_ manage to ruin her favorite pot. I don’t know how you can be so _bad_ at it, Daddy.”

“You’re one to talk, Kei-chan.” Elias laughed.

“Hm? Oh. Actually, I learned.” Ann said, her keen eye noting that Elias’ tie was slightly crooked. She stepped forward, reaching to adjust it automatically, like she often did with Ren. “Learned how to tie a tie, too--”

“I can do it.” Elias said suddenly, sharply. He brushed Ann’s hands away, quickly sitting back down at his desk and turning back to his computer. “...Go and let your mother know I’ll be ready for dinner, Ann.”

Ann blinked. “Er… ...Right.” She turned to head back to the kitchen, not noticing as her tall, imposing father surreptitiously wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand.

Ann joined Erika and Bachan in the kitchen. “Daddy’s ready. He’s acting a little weird, though.”

“How so?” Erika passed a dish of cold-smoked salmon over to Ann.

“Well, first he looked at me like he saw a ghost. And then when I started to adjust his tie, he almost snapped at me…” Ann frowned. “I hope he isn’t mad at me.”

Erika and Bachan exchanged glances. Erika smiled slightly; Bachan outright rolled her eyes, muttering something about a ‘stubborn ox’.

“Ah, don’t worry about it, Kei-chan. I’m sure he’s just anxious to meet Amamiya-kun.” Erika said, shrugging.

Ann sighed, glancing at her phone. Ren was already on his way from the train station. “I hope they get along.”

>>>

Ren made his way from the station in Hiroo towards the Takamaki residence. He paused, opening the shopping bag he carried to check the contents for the umpteenth time. Ann had assured him that her parents loved coffee as much as Ren and Sojiro did, and so he had brought along some of Leblanc’s best. But it was a long trip from Yongen to Hiroo (it wasn’t) and there was a chance he could have dropped the coffee (less than 1%) or forgotten something (how could he, after checking and double checking?) thus forcing him to turn back to Leblanc (fat chance).

 _‘Ah… I’m stalling.’_ Ren sighed. He repeated Ann’s last words to him after school today, before she left for home and he went to practice.

_‘Don’t worry. They’ll love you.’_

And then of course, he remembered what Ann said last week, too.

_‘Daddy… Well. Uhm… he agreed to at least meet you?’_

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. The worst part was, Ren completely understood. First of all, just the way that Ann talked about Elias Takamaki spoke volumes. To her, he was ‘daddy’. Not ‘otou-san’, or ‘dad’, or ‘papa’. The man loved his daughter dearly, to the point where Ann sincerely referred to him like that. Secondly, in the time that the man had been away, both his daughter _and_ her best friend were nearly raped by a _teacher_.

And finally, the boyfriend that his beloved ‘Kei-chan’ had found was not only a boxer, but also someone who’d seen the inside of two juvenile detention centers and an adult prison before his eighteenth birthday.

_‘If I was a father, I wouldn’t trust me, either.’_

Ren resisted the urge to shadowbox to try to alleviate some of his anxiety, not wanting to wrinkle the clothes Ann picked out for him. A fitted white shirt with a black tie. A charcoal suit that somehow ‘brought out his eyes’.

_‘It’s a classic look, Wildcard! Mom will love it.’_

Ren didn’t dare to ask what her father might think. He tugged at his collar. It was funny. Everything seemed to fit perfectly when they bought this earlier in the week. Along with the usual reasons for his nervousness (wanting his likely future in-laws to like him, wanting to make Ann happy, etcetera), there was also the fact that against Ann’s advice, Ren had looked up a little more information on Elias Takamaki’s old regiment, the _Utti Jaeger_.

He wondered if he’d be able to outrun an ex-Special Forces soldier in the dress shoes he was wearing. 

He blinked, suddenly in front of the gate that led to the upscale apartment building where Ann lived. The trip felt much shorter than usual. He keyed in the code for the buzzer - it range once, quickly answered by Ann.

“Come on up, Wildcard. And stop worrying!”

Ren smiled despite himself. As usual, his Songbird knew exactly what he was thinking. In the elevator, he looked at himself with the selfie camera of his phone.

_‘Should have found another pair of glasses…’_

He walked down the hall and knocked on the door. After a few moments, it opened to the mouth-watering scent of Bachan’s cooking and the soft sounds of a Bill Evans album in the background. All of Ren’s rehearsed lines (‘Hello, I’m Ren Amamiya. Thank you for inviting me over. Here, this is for you’) dropped out of his head as he regarded the person in front of him.

Dumbfounded, Ren stared. “Er… Ann…?”

A petite woman stood in front of him. She was almost a dead-ringer for his girlfriend. She was stylishly dressed in a green blouse and black skirt, and the way she carried herself was so _familiar_ to Ren that he had initially looked past the brunette hair and hazel eyes. She laughed, delighted, looking over her shoulder.

“Kei-chan, you said he was charming, but now he’s just flattering me!” Erika looked back to Ren, eyes sparkling as she offered her hand. “Erika Takamaki. Ann’s mother, and your friend for life, for mistaking me for a teenager. Even for a second.”

“Flirting already, Wildcard?” Ann grinned, appearing at her mother’s side.

Ren smiled sheepishly. He shook Erika’s hand before handing her the shopping bag.

“Oh! Thank you!” Erika smiled. “I’ll just put this in the kitchen. Come in, come in!”

Ann squeezed Ren’s hand, quickly kissing his cheek. “You look great. Don’t look so worried. Mom already loves you. And Bachan’s here, too.”

Yui waved at Ren from the kitchen. “Ren-kun! Welcome, make yourself at home. Erika-san, where’s that husband of yours?”

“Still in the office… Elias! Amamiya-kun is here! Let’s have dinner.”

“Coming, _kulta_.”

To Ren’s credit, he didn’t appear visibly shaken at the sight of the 190cm tall father of the love of his life. After all, he had faced down the Yaldabaoth, Mamoru Yamanaka, and Rui Tachibana (and the boxer thought of them in that order, too). But, Ren would have been lying if he said he didn’t feel at least a _little_ intimidated by the man who was apparently, only half-Finnish.

Ann beamed at Ren and Elias. “Daddy, this is Ren Amamiya.”

Elias offered his hand. “Amamiya-san.”

Ren shook his hand, managing not to wince at the crushing grip, instead returning it with equal force. “Takamaki-san. Pleased to meet you, sir.”

The older man just nodded, moving to the table without another word.

_‘Well. Could have been worse.’_

“Ah! Ren, your tie…” Ann stepped in front of him, frowning as she fussed over him. “I’ve shown you how to do this so many times, but you still show up with it crooked…”

Elias, sitting behind Ann, shot Ren a sudden glare.

_‘...Well. It’s worse.’_

Ren tried to gently fend Ann off as he tried to recall Ryuji’s advice. After all, Ryuji managed to survive not one, but several dinners with Makoto and Sae.

>>>

“Ah, I just don’t get this at all.” Ryuji put down his book, looking helplessly across the coffee table to Makoto. They were studying in her apartment.

Makoto looked up from her laptop, giving Ryuji an encouraging smile. “I’m sure it’s not that bad, Ryuji. You’ve been working pretty hard, and your exam results were decent. What are you having trouble with--...”

Ryuji’s book was the first _tankoubon_ volume of _Namaiki Zakari_ . _One_ of them was studying, apparently.

“Can I see that for a second, Ryuji?” Makoto asked, (too) sweetly.

Ryuji didn’t recognize the warning signs, handing it over. “Oh, it’s something I borrowed from RenRen. It’s about this straight-laced basketball team manager who falls in love with her kouhai--ow!”

Makoto lightly bonked the blonde’s head with the spine of the book. “Study. You’re in third year.”

“Isn’t it time for a break!?”

Makoto pointed at the timer she had set up on her phone. “Not for ten minutes. And how much of the past hour have you spent reading this?! And _why_ are you reading it, anyway?!”

“Er, well. It’s about basketball, too, so Ren thought it’d be easier for me to get into.”

“That’s not really what I’m asking. Why would you want to get into shoujo manga anyway? I thought you hated this stuff.” Makoto said, flipping through the book.

Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck, looking awkwardly aside. “Ah… well. I thought maybe I could get some ideas for things to do with you. Y’know. Dates and stuff… You’ve been working really hard since you started university, but you still take the time to help _me_ study. I wanted to do something special to thank you…”

Makoto’s eyes widened, her pale face turning pink. “...Oh!” She smiled, looking down at the table. “That’s sweet, Ryuji. But you don’t have to do anything like that. I’m your girlfriend. I’m happy to help. So… what was it that you didn’t understand in this?”

“Ah, the _kabe-don_ stuff. Y’know, the dramatic wall-slam.” Ryuji said, shaking his head. “It seems like a good way to take a counter-punch to the gut or something. I don’t get why girls would _like_ this stuff.”

“ _Kabe-don_ …?” Makoto tried to flip through the volume to find the corresponding scene unsuccessfully. “Isn’t that just banging on a wall? I never really got into this stuff, so I have no idea… Why would that make it into a romance manga?”

“I have no idea, it’s weird. Ah, here. I’ll show you.”

They stood up; Ryuji positioned his girlfriend in front of the door to her bedroom. “So, the heroine is trying to avoid the love interest for some reason. But then he walks up and does this.”

“Does what? You’re just standing there--!”

Ryuji’s palm abruptly slammed into the door just beside Makoto’s head with a loud thud. Makoto jumped a little in surprise.

“See? Weird, right? Why would this…” He blinked. Makoto’s eyes were wide open; a blush bloomed across her pale cheeks. Ryuji glanced down, noting that the brunette still held the manga volume. He started to move away, not wanting to risk getting smacked with the book again. Her voice stopped him.

“Er… ...yes. Uhm… just… just out of curiosity, what did the love interest do next?” Makoto mumbled, averting her eyes.

As dense as Ryuji could be, even he recognized the opportunity.

“Oh. ...Well, he does this to get closer…” Ryuji bent his elbow, so that his entire forearm was braced against the wall. His face and body were only inches away from Makoto, now. From this distance, he could even catch the scent of the vanilla scented shampoo she preferred.

“...And then?”

“...He doesn’t say much. All he says… …”

“All he says is…?” Makoto quietly squeaked as Ryuji gently took hold of her chin, tipping her face up. She still averted her eyes, right up until it was time to close them.

“ _Senpai…_ ” Ryuji murmured, closing his own eyes in turn, their lips just starting to touch--

“Makoto? You left your door unlocked. Sorry to just drop by, but I was in the neighborhood, so I brought some-- What are you doing to my sister, Sakamoto?!”

Ryuji jumped back, whirling to see Sae Niijima standing in the doorway. She glared daggers at the blonde.

“N-nothing! I was just pinning her to the door!”

“Ryuji!” Makoto hissed.

“You were _what_?!”

“No! It didn’t mean anything! I was--”

“That’s not better, Ryuji!” Makoto sighed.

“What do you _mean_ , it didn’t _mean anything?!”_

>>>

“So that’s how you two met! That’s terribly romantic.” Erika gushed. “A chance encounter under an awning in the rain. I’ll bet you’ve never been happier to forget your umbrella, Kei-chan.”

“Geez, Mom…” Ann mumbled. She smiled, though. Dinner was going well from that perspective. She was right - her mother already seemed to love her daughter’s boyfriend.

Bachan laughed. “On rainy days, her umbrella actually comes home _dry_ most of the time, now. Ren-kun always sees her home safely, even if he has practice, or if Kei-chan has a photoshoot or interview. The two of them wait for each other, to the point where I wonder if separating them is even _possible_ \--”

“Bachan!”

“What? It’s _true_.”

And Yui was never a concern. To Ann’s outward chagrin (and inner giddiness) her longtime caretaker had all but planned the wedding in her head.

No, the bigger concern was the blonde man sitting silently at the head of the table.

“Isn’t that sweet, Elias?”

“Mm.”

“Remember how you used to walk me home like that?”

“Yes.”

Ann poked her father’s leg with her toe, hissing quietly under her breath. “ _Daddy_ …!” She shot him a look.

Elias sighed. “...So. Amamiya-kun. Kei-chan told me that you all just had your first exams of the year. How did it go?”

“Ah, pretty well, sir. Ann worked really hard.” Ren replied.

“I can imagine! We were shocked when she showed us her scores.” Erika paused to take a sip of her wine. Her cheeks were already a little rosy. “She tells us you’re the one to thank for that. I don’t know _how_ you managed to get this girl to study.”

_‘Hey, Songbird. Tell you what. For every half hour you can stay focused, I’ll…’_

Their little agreement from October last year still persisted to this day, to the point where Ann was starting to develop a somewhat Pavlovian response to homework.

Ann turned the same color as her mother, despite the fact that she was just drinking water. “Er, well, you know! It helps having a study partner. To stay focused. Yep! That’s all.” She said, in a _slightly_ higher pitched voice than usual.

Elias frowned, looking at Ann. “Really… How--”

“You’re selling yourself short, Ann. You’re the one who had to write the exam, after all.” Ren smoothly covered.

Ann suppressed a relieved sigh. “You’re selling _yourself_ short, Ren. You were at the top of the class! You have been, since you transferred.”

Elias spoke suddenly, more than he had during the course of the entire dinner thus far.

“And why did you transfer to Shujin anyway?”

>>>

“And why did you transfer to Shujin anyway?”

“Ouch. Wonder how he’s going to handle _that_ one.” Shiho said, leaning forward at the booth she shared in Leblanc with Futaba. They were currently listening in on dinner with the Takamaki family via Ren’s phone, by way of Futaba’s computer. Without his knowledge, of course.

Sojiro, behind the counter, shook his head. “You girls really don’t see a problem with what you’re doing?”

“Oh, no. There’s a HUGE problem!” Futaba looked up at Sojiro, wide-eyed.

“Yeah. No video feed at all.” Shiho sipped her coffee.

“That’s not really what I meant…” Sojiro sighed. “You should give them some privacy. Futaba, please turn off the bug.”

“Aw, fine.” Futaba hit a key on her laptop, turning off the feed.

“Why are you two hanging out here, anyway?” Sojiro asked. “Not that I mind too much. Hard to get into trouble here in Yongen, heh.”

“Oh, Haruru said she was dropping by to hang out. For some reason, she said it had to be here, even though she basically has her house to herself. I even offered my place, too.”

The bell above the door rang as it was pushed open.

Haru stepped inside, followed by the ever-present Rui Tachibana.

“Hello, Boss! Shiho-chan, Futaba-chan!”

“Hey! How’s college life?”

“Oh! Are you living off ramen now?!”

“She doesn’t have to, Gremlin. She’s loaded.”

“But ramen’s the best part of college!”

Haru laughed. She stepped over to the booth, her voice lowering to a whisper.

Sojiro blinked. The girls occasionally looked back at either Sojiro or Tachibana, either with wide eyes, or worse, surprised laughs and small smiles. As for the formidable woman herself, she was studiously quiet, but seemed to be looking everywhere _but_ behind the counter.

The girls abruptly stood up, heading to the door.

“Oh? You’re going out?”

“Not far, otou-san.” Futaba grinned. “I just want to show Haru some stuff from school, and it’s over at the house.”

Haru smiled at Rui. “You should stay here, Rui-san. The coffee’s really good. I won’t be far.”

“But--”

“I can _order_ you to stay, if that makes it easier.” Haru’s smile didn’t change, but her eyes took on a fox like gleam.

“I… ...that won’t be necessary!” Tachibana managed to spit out, looking slightly flustered. At Futaba’s next words, she became _very_ flustered.

The orange-haired girl paused in front of Tachibana, her face perfectly composed. She bowed formally. “Please take care of my father.”

Sojiro nearly dropped the mug he was polishing. “What?!”

Tachibana made an odd croaking noise as the three girls departed, laughing.

“Uh… So… What can I get you?”

Tachibana bit her lip. She took a seat at the bar.

“... ...Anything’s fine. Something warm.”

>>>

Despite his nerves, Ren knew when he was being tested. He knew full well that both Elias and Erika Takamaki were aware of his past. So the issue wasn’t so much the information, but _how_ he was going to relay it. Would he try to gloss over it? Conceal it?

Nervous or not, he was a boxer. Straightforward was best.

He returned Elias’ gaze, ironically finding some measure of calm when he started thinking of this like a straight up sparring match rather than meeting his girlfriend’s parents.

“I was convicted on false assault charges in a show trial for getting in the way of Masayoshi Shido. Due to the conditions of my probation, I was sent away from home and sent to Shujin Academy.”

“That’s interesting. Shujin had a reputation as a good school, before last year. Why do you think they’d want to send a criminal there?”

“Daddy!” Ann snapped, starting to stand. She was either going to try to explain things, or defend him. Probably both. The blonde girl seemed to react more than Ren did when anyone called him a criminal. But the last thing Ren wanted to do was drive a wedge between Ann and her father. He smiled at Ann - it was his turn to be reassuring.

“It’s a fair question, Ann.” He turned back to Elias. “I’ve had a long time to think about that, Takamaki-san… First of all, to even be ‘allowed’ to have this probation, rather than being shoved into a place like Tama for the year, I had to pass a number of exams. And then when I got there, Kobayakawa and my homeroom teacher made it clear to me that I was on thin ice to begin with. I think I was sent to Shujin to ensure that I wouldn’t have a future of any kind.”

Ren chose his words carefully - he couldn’t let on that the Phantom Thieves had discovered any of Shido’s connections prior to his trial.

“My suspicions were confirmed during Shido’s trial. Kobayakawa answered directly to him - even at the high school level, Shido was looking for impressionable young minds he could recruit and exploit. I certainly didn’t fit into that group… but Kobayakawa outright told me there were certain ‘pressures’ to admit me to Shujin.”

“Pressures?” Elias raised his eyebrow, seeming genuinely interested now, rather than just trying to gauge Ren’s responses under pressure.

Ren nodded. “Shido is a self-admitted petty, angry man, who used his considerable political clout to take revenge for even the smallest slights. He wanted to make sure my life would be over. Normally a criminal conviction would be enough to do that - but I’m a minor. If I kept my nose clean during probation, my record would have been sealed on becoming an adult. But if he sent me to a school he had control over… there goes any hope of college or vocational school recommendations.”

Ren shrugged.

“Assuming they even would have let me graduate. Kamoshida already spread rumors about me before I set foot in Shujin and was gunning for my expulsion. And my homeroom teacher gave up on me without even getting to know me, at first. I was set up to fail.”

Ann squeezed Ren’s hand under the table. He smiled at her again; she knew that he wasn’t fond of talking about all of this.

Erika shook her head. “And you just took all of this? On your own?”

“No. That would have crushed me.” Ren squeezed Ann’s hand back. “It nearly did. But Ann, Ryuji, Shiho… all of our friends, they got me through it. And I fought back.”

Ren paused, again choosing his next words carefully.

“...By studying hard, and showing every student and teacher in that place that they were wrong. The only way to get through the year was by having grades no one could argue with. It’s pretty hard for any school to defame their top student, no matter how corrupt they are. It would reflect poorly on them to prospective students. And things have worked out.”

Elias grunted noncommittally. “And what do you want to do with your life?”

“Journalism.”

“Which university?”

“Toudai, Waseda, or Keio.”

“Ambitious.”

“Yes.” Ren replied flatly. He had practice at handling interrogations. An awkward silence settled over the table as he and Elias stared each other down.

Yui’s voice broke the silence. She was quiet, but pointed.

“Ambitious, yes. Ambitious, handsome, and _tactful_ .” She shot an admonishing glare at Elias. For a moment, the tall Finnish-Japanese man looked a little contrite as he wilted under the gaze of the sixty-something year old grandmother. “Unlike _some_ people sitting at this table.”

Erika reached across the table, touching Ren’s forearm.

“Speaking of Kamoshida, Amamiya-kun. Thank you. From _both_ of us.”

Ren felt a brief moment of panic - how much did they know? His eyes flitted to Ann; she shook her head fractionally.

“Kei-chan told us what you did for Shiho-chan. She means a great deal to us too, you know? And even if she hadn’t said anything, it’s pretty clear from the timing of when you two met, and how she talks about you, that you really supported both her and Shiho-chan through everything.”

Erika paused, glancing at Elias before smiling at Ren again.

“Elias really is grateful, Amamiya-kun. He just doesn’t have a lot of trust when it comes to people around our daughter right now.”

“Erika!” Elias shot his wife a look.

“You know it’s true, Elias.” Erika returned the gaze evenly, the petite woman completely unintimidated.

Elias was the first to waver. He muttered something in Finnish; the sight was something like a lion backing down from a housecat. He finally smiled a little, looking at Ren with a hint of resigned amusement in his eyes. “Does Kei-chan see right through you, like Erika sees through me?”

“She does.” Ren smirked, picking up on the changing atmosphere. “Unless I distract her with sweets--Ow!”

Ann smiled sweetly at Ren, removing her finger from his ribs.

“Careful, Amamiya-kun. Sharp fingers. She gets that from her mother--Ouch!”

Erika looked remarkably like her daughter as she too, withdrew her finger from her husband’s ribs.

Elias winced, rubbing his side. “Ah, look. I’m sorry, Amamiya-kun. We already felt a lot of guilt about leaving Ann alone in Tokyo, even _before_ we found out about Kamoshida. After I learned of what happened, I felt even worse.”

“Daddy, it’s not your or Mom’s fault, I told you--” Ann started to say, her eyes wide. 

“No, Kei-chan. We’re your parents. Above anything else, our job is to protect you from things like this. We failed you, but luckily Amamiya-kun was there.” Elias turned back to Ren. “It’s as Erika says. We truly are grateful, but I’m having a hard time trusting people I don’t know around my family right now. So, please. Help me. Who are you? What kind of boy did my daughter choose?”

“It was a difficult time for everyone. There’s no need to apologize, Takamaki-san.”

Elias waved his hand. “Elias is fine. We’re all Takamaki here, technically.”

Ren nodded, feeling a little more relaxed. “You probably know most of it, Elias-san. I’m from Kamakura, my parents own an inn there. Right now, I’m focusing on entrance exams and the boxing team.”

Elias nodded. “...And how serious are you about boxing? Is this going to be a career for you?”

Ann and Ren exchanged glances; Ann shrugged slightly - apparently, she wasn’t sure what the ‘right’ answer was here. Ren decided it was best to not start his relationship off with his likely father-in-law with a lie.

“I’m thinking about going pro, Elias-san.”

Elias frowned.

Ren spoke quickly. “I’m still going to apply to university. Amateur or pro, I can’t box forever, and--”

Elias blinked, waving a hand. “Ah, no. That’s not it at all. One moment, Amamiya-kun.” He stood, disappearing to the office. He returned a moment later with an old photo album. He handed it to Ren.

“Please. Have a look.”

Ann scooted her chair over a little as Ren opened the album. The pictures were of a young, tall man - clearly a younger Elias Takamaki. Most of the pictures were in and around New York, in particular at NYU… But, amazingly, there were pictures of him training - as a boxer.

“...You were an outboxer. From the stance you took…”

Elias smiled, with an approving nod.

“Oh! And that’s Mom…!” Ann gasped, pointing.

In several of the pictures, Erika was there. The resemblance to Ann then was even more striking, as if they were looking at a darker haired version of the blonde girl in the past. The similarity was particularly obvious in the last shot - Elias was standing in the ring, leaning over the ropes as he grinned down at Erika, his hands still wrapped up. She was looking up at him, laughing, wearing a letter jacket, skirt, and button down blouse as she sat below him on the apron.

“My expression changed because you brought me back to my own youth, Amamiya-kun. You might say I fought my way into uni… I got in on a scholarship; a recruiter came over to Finland to watch me fight. I did pretty well for the university team, but never made the transition into professional boxing. It was more important for me to return home to complete my military service. By the time that was done, there were more important things to worry about.” Elias said. His smile at his family left no question as to what the more important things were.

“Still, boxing was important to me. While Kei-chan knows the story of how we met, I like to think that Erika didn’t really fall for me until after she saw me fight.”

Ann shook her head. “You never told me…”

Erika shrugged. “You never asked us. Besides, what would you have thought of your mother if you found out she went doe-eyed for some handsome jock who punched people for fun?” She eyed Ren, a sly smile on her pretty face. “Though apparently, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”

“We were dating _before_ I saw him fight!”

“I bet it got better _after_ you saw him fight.”

Ann turned carmine.

Ren coughed, trying not to laugh. He knew she was thinking of Kapolei.

“Mom! Seriously…”

>>>

“Seriously, onee-san! We’ve been over this! I’m dating Ryuji, and I moved out. It’s only natural that I’d have him over!” Makoto huffed, standing in front of Sae with her arms crossed. Ryuji had already beaten a somewhat hasty retreat out the door.

The elder Niijima sister sighed, rubbing her face. She tried to recall anything from one of the websites or books she had taken upon herself to read in an effort to become a better older sister slash parental figure to Makoto, even though she was now an adult in her own right. To her knowledge, there certainly wasn’t a book, website, or even reddit thread entitled _‘How to speak to your technically adult but probably emotionally stunted sister about dating and romance when you yourself are fundamentally broken inside but trying to get better’._

“...I know. I _know_.” Sae said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Makoto. All of this is just really new to me. I feel like we only just started to reconnect, and then it was time for you to move out.”

That seemed to get past Makoto’s defenses. The brunette sighed as well, sitting down beside her sister on the couch.

“...Sorry, onee-san. Maybe I should have stayed at home. I miss you, too.”

Sae smiled. This seemed to be working. “No, Makoto. This was your decision. I wasn’t completely for it to start, but I can understand wanting to get out of your comfort zone. The career path you want is going to force you to do that sooner or later, anyway.”

Makoto nodded.

Sae reached to the coffee table, opening the box of treats she brought - the original reason she had dropped by.

Makoto’s eyes lit up at the sight of the brightly colored balls of _mochiko_. They were served on wooden skewers. The brunette let out a surprised laugh.

“Seriously? _Dango_?”

“Well, you used to like these!”

“When I was _five_.” Makoto snickered.

Sae huffed, embarrassed. “Fine. I’ll just take them and--”

Makoto shook her head, reaching for a skewer. “No. Thank you, onee-san. Let’s eat them together.”

Sae smiled, taking another skewer. “...Much sweeter than I remember.”

Makoto nodded. “Mm. I think I still really like these.”

“I’m not surprised.” Sae said, wryly. “ _Hana yori dango_ describes you perfectly.”

“Did you buy these just so you could make that joke?”

“No. It works out, though.” Sae grinned, looking (and feeling) shockingly childish. She looked at the colorful dessert, taking the chance on an awkward segue. “...So. Does Sakamoto-kun bring you flowers, or dango?”

Makoto nearly choked, blushing.

Sae thumped her back. “Sorry! Sorry. It’s really awkward talking to me about this, isn’t it?”

“It -cough- really is, onee-san. But I get it. We’re the only family we’ve got, aren’t we?”

“Mm.”

“He treats me well. Really well.” Makoto said, shaking her head. “Sometimes I can’t believe how sweet he can be, even if he can be so dense sometimes…”

“You’re spending a lot of time with him?”

“As much as we can, which isn’t much.” Makoto sighed. “I’m busy with classes, and he’s studying hard, too. And he’s back on the track team. He’s been pretty tired lately.”

“Really? Just from studying and track?”

“Apparently. I asked him once, and he didn’t really want to get into it.”

“ _Really_.” Sae said, immediately thinking of the various cases that involved some form of infidelity that had crossed her desk during her career.

“I trust him, onee-san.” Makoto smiled. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. If he’s not ready to talk about it, I’m sure it’s for a good reason.”

“...Alright.” Sae allowed. Makoto wasn’t stupid, she knew. And before Makoto’s entrance exams, the bottle-blond was incredibly supportive of her, albeit somewhat unorthodox in how he showed it. He seemed to sincerely care about Makoto, and vice versa.

But, Makoto, adult or not, was Sae’s little sister. Even if he had earned Makoto’s trust, he hadn’t yet earned Sae’s.

>>>

Dinner was over; Ren and the Takamaki family sat around the large sofa in the living room, chatting over the coffee that Ren had painstakingly prepared.

“So is this really true? _Boxing Fan_ has a tendency to exaggerate.” Elias nodded at the tablet sitting on the coffee table.

Ren cringed as he read. “‘He Who Rules with his Left…’ Seriously? I didn’t get a chance to read this.”

“So you didn’t really beat him with just your left hand?”

Ann blinked. “Hm? Oh, no. That’s definitely true.”

“ _Lehmät lentää_! There’s no way!”

“It’s all there in the article, isn’t it?!” Ann, seeing the opportunity to talk Ren up to her father, excitedly started to regale her parents and Bachan with her view of Ren’s first fight back on the inter-high circuit. “...And then he switched his feet, and hit him with a left straight--”

“Wait. You’re a switch-hitter?” Elias raised his eyebrow.

Ren waved a hand modestly. “It’s something I’m still working on… Honestly, it was pretty reckless. Coach Takeda, Shinoda, and Kana-chan all gave me an earful about doing it in an actual match.”

“Then why did you do it? Kei-chan mentioned that you’re nothing if not obsessed with your training and obedient to your trainers.”

Ren hesitated, but Ann didn’t, again seeing the opportunity.

“His opponent said some pretty awful things about me to try to get Ren off his game.”

Elias blinked, and then barked a short, approving laugh. “Well, then. Reckless, but justice. Stand up, then. Show me what you did.” He stood up, moving to an open area of the living room. He held up his open palms.

“...I couldn’t. I--”

“Come on, hit me. Unless all of that really was a lie.” Elias gave him a challenging grin.

Ren doffed his coat and rolled up his shirt sleeves, a little smirk on his face. He took his stance, staring to fire jabs into Elias’ palm. Sharp, snapping sounds rang out in the living room.

Bachan rolled her eyes. “Men.”

Erika nudged Ann playfully. “Ne, Kei-chan. You didn’t mention his _shoulders_. And those forearms. I can see why you picked him~”

“ _Mom_!”

Neither Ren nor Elias heard the exchange - both of them were too focused on _their_ conversation. Ren jabbed a few more times before switching stances smoothly, sending a left cross into the taller man’s right hand.

Elias winced, shaking out his hand. “I see. You switched your feet while you snapped your left back. Setoguchi wouldn’t have seen it with your glove still in his face.”

“That, and he was pretty angry by the third round already.” Ren shrugged, sitting back down beside Ann.

“Is that so? Well, thank you for the demonstration. I’ll have to come and watch one of your fights.”

Elias finished his coffee. He looked at the empty mug thoughtfully. “You know, Amamiya-kun. If you enjoy coffee to this degree, you might also appreciate a drink.”

He retrieved a bottle of honey-colored bourbon and two glasses, pouring. Elias spoke again without even visibly looking up at Ann’s hopeful eyes.

“Kei-chan, I’ve only tonight come around to the idea of you having a boyfriend. At least let me pretend you can’t imagine drinking for a little while longer.” He chuckled as Ann pouted.

“Elias-san, I’m underage.” Ren said to help cover the fact that he’d been ‘training’ for this, though. The moment of truth.

The Finnish-Japanese man smiled. “You’re a good kid, aren’t you? You’re under my roof. It’s fine.”

Ren nodded, accepting the glass. Elias clinked his own against Ren’s, nodding.

Ren took a sip… and remained conscious. Apparently, Ann’s last-ditch effort had resulted in more than a pleasantly inebriated intimate encounter. With his newfound tolerance, he was actually able to _taste_ the bourbon. His palate immediately registered the slightly honeyed sweetness, and the faint notes of fruit and nuts.

“...Wow. I could get used to this.”

Ann frowned. “You… you should probably slow down, Wildcard.”

“Why? That was hardly a single.” Elias said, shrugging. He poured Ren another.

Ann’s eyes widened. The other night, Ren had _barely_ gotten through a single, and that was with her ‘help’. She leaned over to Ren, speaking at a whisper.

“Wildcard, this isn’t a good idea. Your face is already turning red, and we have no idea what your actual limit is. What if you pass out? Or say something really embarrassing?”

Ren glanced over at Elias, who was watching the two of them curiously. He turned back to Ann, speaking in equally hushed tones.

“How am I doing?”

“I think he’s really warming up to you.”

“...Then, there’s not really any other choice I can make. I… ...I love you, Songbird.”

“...I’ll always remember you, Wildcard.”

>>>

“Futaba? Are you and the girls in there?”

Futaba, Haru, and Shiho looked up - they were hanging out in the orange-haired girl’s room.

“Mmhm! Door’s open.”

Sojiro poked his head in the room. “I uh… I’m closing the cafe for the night.”

Shiho grinned. “So _early_? Whatever for?”

Sojiro sighed. “Honestly, you girls… I’m going to go get a drink at that bar the kid moonlights at. Crossroads.”

“And how are you getting there?” Haru asked, innocently.

“...Tachibana-san’s driving us, okay?!” Sojiro snapped. “Just… don’t get into too much trouble. You all can order whatever you want for dinner. I left some money on the table.”

He closed the door, grumbling.

The three girls shared a laugh at the veteran barista’s expense.

Haru reached over, squeezing Futaba’s hand. “Are you alright with this, Futaba-chan?”

“Yep!” Futaba said, grinning. “I told you so in that text, didn’t I? If Tachibana-san likes my dad… Well, he could do a lot worse.”

Futaba idly pushed her chair back and forth in a short arc. “And… Well, Sojiro doesn’t have to worry about me as much anymore, you know? School’s been going well, and I’m spending all this time with Kaoru, Tomoko, and Kaname… And nii-chan’s always boxing, studying, or spending time with Ann. I don’t want my dad to get lonely.”

Haru nodded. “I could say the same thing for Rui-san. She always says that she’s focused on me, but I don’t want her to spend her entire life just worried about what I’m doing. I care about her too much…”

“You two are so sweet.” Shiho rested her chin on her palm, lying prone on Futaba’s bed. “It’s true, isn’t it? Both of them deserve to find that sort of happiness--...why are you looking at me like that, Haruru?”

Haru raised her eyebrow. “Speaking of people living vicariously through others…”

Shiho rolled her eyes. “Please. No one’s interested, and--”

“Actually, there’s always a few guys trying to get a glimpse of volleyball practice. And you’re starting to get a following on the forum.” Futaba nodded, pointing at one of her screens. “See? ‘Captain Suzui’ even has a fanclub.”

“Hm. Mako-chan _has_ been oddly fixated on setting Shiho-chan up with someone. Maybe I should let her know…”

_‘Suzui. When you get a boyfriend, I swear to God, I’m going to make you pay.’_

“H-hey! Wait a second…!”

>>>

“Songbirb…? Where did… -hic- you take me?”

“The guest room, Wildcard. You’re in no condition to go home. Here’s an aspirin, and a glass of water.”

“Nn… I’m bad at pills…. help me take it? Since you didn’t help me with the bourbon~”

“What?! No! Go to sleep. Honestly, look at you, you’re…”

Erika closed the door behind Ann to let her daughter get her boyfriend tucked in. With a little smile, she joined Elias in the kitchen to help him wash up. She eyed her husband; Elias was just a little tipsy, at best. She stood beside him at the sink, lightly bumping his arm with her shoulder.

“Amamiya-kun is quite nice, isn’t he? Bit of a lightweight, though.”

“Mm.” Elias grunted.

“Kei-chan seems to really love him, the way she looks at him. And the way she’s fussing over him right now…”

Elias stopped washing dishes for a moment, but then just shrugged, continuing.

Erika knew her husband, though. She leaned against him, making him pause longer this time.

“It surprised me too, you know? Seeing her all dressed up with her hair down. It’s like she went and grew up while we were away.”

Elias sighed.

“It’s not just that, kulta. When she stepped into the office to check on me, I thought she was _you_. Then she adjusted my tie like she’s done it before, dozens of times… And apparently she’s learned how to cook. But most of all, she’s acting more selfish, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. She’s finally more concerned with what she wants, and her own future, rather than just trying to make us or Bachan happy. At first I thought the same as you, that she was just growing up. But when Amamiya-kun arrived, the way she looked at him…”

Elias trailed off, shaking his head as he remembered a certain conversation, when Ann had just started elementary school.

_‘Daddy, what’s marriage?’_

_‘That’s when you find the person you love the most and decide you want to spend the rest of your life with them.’_

_‘Oh! Then I want to marry you, Daddy!’_

Erika stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “It’s hard for fathers when their daughters are this age, honey.”

“It feels like yesterday when she said that she wanted to marry _me._ ”

Erika snorted. “I remember that, too. She said she wanted to marry you or Miyahara-san, the baker that made her birthday cake.”

“You’re handling this well.”

“I had _my_ freak-out when I took Kei-chan shopping for her first bra, remember?” Erika smiled wryly. “But I wouldn’t worry too much, Elias. Amamiya-kun is a good boy, and it’s painfully obvious how much he loves her. And most of all, you’re always going to be ‘Daddy’ to Kei-chan.”

Ann walked back into the open-plan area of the apartment that comprised the living room, kitchen, and dining room. “Honestly, that guy…”

A wistful smile crossed Elias’ features. Ann’s expression was a mix of irritation and affection as she complained about Ren to her mother. It was a look that someone got only when they were past the ‘honeymoon phase’ of their relationship, after the initial rush of oxytocin-induced infatuation left, replaced by something far more steadfast and abiding.

His daughter looked beautiful, mature, and graceful, and it wasn’t for him.

“Daddy?”

Elias broke out of his reverie.

“Are you okay? You spaced out, there.”

“Ah. I’m fine, Kei-chan.”

She smiled at him. “Good. Thanks for getting along so well with Ren. It was really important to him to make a good impression.”

“Hm? Why’s that?” Elias turned back to the empty sink, washing his hands. He blinked as Ann suddenly hugged him.

“Because he knows how much I love you.”

Elias looked down at Ann. She smiled up at him in a way that made him see not the young lady she had been all night, but the cute little girl with pigtails from his memories. It was a smile that only a beloved father would receive.

“I mean, I was worried when you two argued about whether Yamanaka-san was actually the greatest—oof!”

Elias turned, returning the hug in a way that was incredibly uncharacteristic of the normally impassive man. He squished her face against him, preventing her from looking up.

“Daddy! Can’t… breathe!”

Erika stifled a laugh. She understood perfectly. Her husband didn’t want their daughter to see his tears.

>>>

May 28, 20xx 

The morning sun beat down relentlessly onto Ren’s eyelids like hammers connected to a perpetual motion machine, designed by a diabolical scientist to violate the laws of thermodynamics _just_ to torture the young boxer as he woke up. He groaned, turning away and groping for a pillow. He shoved his head underneath the one he found.

Apparently, the pillow was somehow a bag of concrete cleverly hidden in an eggshell blue cloth case. It felt heavy and stifling over his head, accentuating the uncomfortable feeling that his temples were being squeezed by a vise. He pulled it off his head, immediately whimpering quietly as the sun resumed its assault on his brain. He mumbled again, opting for the reasonable middle of the road solution: holding the pillow up in the way of the light, while remaining perfectly, completely still. The pounding in his head receded to a mild throb.

He cracked open a single eye to peer at his surroundings before quickly screwing his eyes shut. The guest room in the Takamaki residence. He was still wearing his pants and shirt.

The door creaked open.

Ren couldn’t turn to see who it was - it could have been Akechi himself escaped from prison having decided to kill him after all, and he still wouldn’t have been able to turn.

The bed shifted; someone was sitting down beside him. A hand gently stroked his aching head, speaking in _sotto voce_ in a mildly teasing tone. “Morning, Wildcard~”

“Ugh… ...Songbird? What… what happened? Am I… ...alive?”

“Technically, yes.” Ann giggled softly. “Do you remember anything?”

“...Bourbon?”

“Mmhm.”

Ren could tell she was barely containing more laughter. “What… what did I do? What did I say?”

“Hm… Well. First, you asked me to teach you how to say ‘father’ and ‘mother’ in Finnish. So you started calling Daddy ‘isä’ and Mom ‘mami’.”

Ren groaned.

“And then you started adding ‘-chan’ to the end of each of those, even though that doesn’t make any sense.”

Ren groaned again.

“Oh, come on. Once I got over the initial embarrassment, it was really, really cute. Mom didn’t mind. Daddy… ...he tolerated it. Especially after you agreed to the photoshoot.”

Ren sat bolt upright and immediately regretted it, moaning in pain and clutching his head. “I… I did _what_?!”

“Poor thing.” Ann handed Ren the aspirin and glass of water still sitting on the nightstand. She smiled, rubbing Ren’s back. “You agreed to it sometime after you started calling Daddy ‘isä-chan’ and before you two started arguing about whether Mamoru Yamanaka could beat Muhammad Ali at his prime. Don’t worry. It’s going to be with me! You’ll really be helping my parents out, and it’s a really cool idea. I think it’ll be fun!”

“I don’t know…” Ren grimaced. He was bad with pills, but this was an emergency. He got the aspirin down.

“Please? For me?” Her tone was winsome and her eyes profoundly Disney-like.

“...you’re manipulating me.”

“Mmhm!” She leaned closer, kissing his ear, the crackles and heat penetrating even the hungover haze on his mind. “And…?”

“...Okay.”

Ann grinned. “Good.”

“...I guess I should get up.”

Ann helped him stand. He straightened out his shirt. Something else returned from the fog of his memory. Something a tipsy Elias Takamaki had said.

“...Why do I remember something about ‘ba- _keiki-_ mono’ as well?”

Ann’s smile immediately vanished at the mention of the alternate form of her ‘Kei-chan’ nickname. “You will delete that from your memory. Immediately.”

Ren grinned. “Right. The thing your dad calls you when your sweet tooth is _really_ out of control--”

“I’m going to scream in your ear and waft the scent of bacon in here.”

“!! I’ll be good.” Ren said, in a small voice.

>>>

After a quiet (and light) breakfast, Elias gave Ren a ride home. Ann helped her mother wash up after breakfast. Mother and daughter worked side by side, in a comfortable silence. It was an odd thing to take pleasure in - the mundane task of doing dishes. But Ann missed her mother, and they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk privately since Erika’s return to Tokyo.

While drying dishes, Ann glanced sidelong at her mother. The old pictures last night had really highlighted how similar they looked. Idly, Ann wondered what she and Ren would look like, years from now. With their own children; their own family.

“So… Amamiya-kun is quite a catch.”

Ann perked up, realizing she had stopped drying in order to daydream. She got back to it. “Mm. He really is, Mom. I don’t know how I would have gotten through last year without him.”

“He was saying the same thing about you, if I recall.”

“We look after each other.”

“Mm. He’s a lovely boy. I can see why you have him stay over so often.” Erika said, casually.

Ann nearly dropped the plate in surprise, cursing as she fumbled and caught it. She turned scarlet. “Wh-wh-what?! We haven’t-- I haven’t-- We’ve never! Did Bachan tell you?!”

Erika smiled slyly at Ann. “I was just guessing, actually. A pretty girl like you, a handsome young man like that, with no parents on either side in the city. And you two are so comfortable around each other… But, your reaction confirms it, Kei-chan.”

Ann looked down at the counter, feeling a strange mix of guilt, shame, and defensiveness. “...Mom, I’m s--”

Erika touched her forearm, catching Ann’s attention. She smiled gently.

“Ann… It’s fine. Don’t look so scared. You’re happier than I’ve ever seen you, you’re surrounded by friends you trust, your grades are better than ever, and you’re finally taking modelling seriously. If Amamiya-kun’s part of that, how can I complain? As long as you two are being _safe_ about it--”

Ann nodded frantically. Mostly to avoid _that_ awkward conversation.

“Then as far as I’m concerned, it’s fine.”

Ann eventually found her voice again.

“…Thanks, Mom. …Did Daddy figure it out, too?”

Erika rolled her eyes.

“Please. If he had, your boy would be dead. Don’t tell your father. He desperately wants you to think of his little ‘Kei-chan’, or ‘pigtailed princess’. When he saw you with your hair down, he nearly had a heart attack. Honestly, I’m amazed he’s getting along with Amamiya-kun right now. Your boy is special to have gotten through _that_ barrier. Lucky he’s a boxer, though – your father loves that.”

Ann sighed in relief.

“...And it’ll be useful in case your father is actually driving him off somewhere to beat the crap out of him. Amamiya-kun will be able to defend himself.”

Ann’s eyes widened. She dove for her phone to warn Ren.

“I’m kidding, Kei-chan!”

>>>

Ren sat in the passenger side of the Tesla Model 3 that served as the Takamakis’ rarely-used family car. He marveled at how _quiet_ the vehicle was. It did of course, have the unfortunate side effect of enhancing the awkward silence between the two men. Ren wasn’t quite sure what the issue was - according to Ann, they had gotten along last night fairly well, and Ren _was_ going to appear in a photoshoot for et^2 in June.

But, Elias had been fairly quiet at breakfast.

As they neared Leblanc, the blonde man finally spoke up.

“Amamiya-kun. I’ve been curious about something.”

“What’s that, Elias-san?”

“What exactly did you mean, when you started asking Kei-chan to help you drink your bourbon?”

_‘If you can stay awake for the entire glass, Wildcard, I’ll reward you.’ She practically purred. ‘Might be our last night alone for awhile. Is that motivation enough?’_

“!! Uh.. ...no idea what you’re talking about. Not at all. Nope! You know, you can stop the car here.”

Elias frowned. “We’re still a few blocks away--”

Ren opened the door at the red light, hopping out. “Thanksagainfordinnerandbreakfastandtheride!”

Despite his hangover, Ren got started on the day’s training, nearly running away from the car.

Elias smiled slightly at Ren’s retreating back.

“Ah… This may be more fun than I thought it would be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji calling Makoto senpai in that moment made me cringe for all the tropes it fulfills, but that's kind of the point XD Might awaken something in one of them.
> 
> The implication of the phrase 'please take care of my (family role - son, daughter, father, mother)' is that said family member is being 'given' (in that way. Futaba's being cheeky AF)
> 
> Tachibana is invincible/unbeatable, but apparently has a weakness for older men/coffee dads. Age gap isn't as big as it might appear though, she fulfills the eternally young looking trope :P
> 
> I really shouldn't have to say this, but no, Elias doesn't actually want Ann to marry him. He's just a big old softie who remembers when he was the most dependable/important guy in his little girl's life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath continues. Kaname is scary. Finally, some boxing (Almost).
> 
> And NSFW warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terminology:
> 
> sakki - feeling of intention to hurt/bloodthirst

May 27, 20xx 

While Ren was meeting his girlfriend’s parents, the trainer of Mamoru Yamanaka, Taka Hirose, was sitting in his office at Ogino Gym. The grey-haired man sighed, looking at the World Boxing Council championship belt that was on the shelf opposite to his desk. Hirose had coached a few boxers to the Japanese national title before, and all of them had wanted to hang onto their belts personally. It made sense; even the national title was difficult for most boxers to attain. The WBC title was outright impossible for all but an elite few. But, despite the fact that Mamoru Yamanaka defended his title so fiercely, he didn’t really care for the trappings.

Most trainers were envious of Taka Hirose, and with good reason. His main fighter, Yamanaka, was highly disciplined and motivated to fight out of a desire to learn the limits of his own strength. A true student of the sport. Things like championship belts, alcohol, drugs, and expensive toys had little interest to the enigmatic boxer. In a way, that made part of Hirose’s job pretty easy - he never had to lecture his fighter about training, he never had to find him in the gutter after an all-night bender.

But, Yamanaka being the modern-day equivalent of a warrior-monk meant that Hirose instead had to deal with other eccentricities. Some of them small - like the boxer ensconcing himself in the video room for a week with the complete film collection of Bruce Lee, because he wanted to study a _one_ particular punch, only to remember that it wasn’t Bruce Lee that did it, but Donnie Yen acting in a _remake_ of one of Bruce Lee’s movies. That had led to Yamanaka missing three interviews. Other eccentricities were absolute disasters, like suddenly taking a hiatus after his seventh title defense.

_‘Yama-kun, what about the title!? They’ll either declare an interim champion, or strip you of it outright!’_

_‘That’s fine, Hirose-san. If it’s important to you, I’ll just get it back for you._ **_If_ ** _I come back.’_

He did come back, of course. After six months of training in aikido of all things (a martial art that did _not_ emphasize punching), and then six months of training alone in the mountains. And he came back in somehow better form than before, winning the title back handily. And now, here he was - six years and eight more title defenses later, for an incredible 15 straight. It rankled Hirose a bit - he knew that if Yamanaka had chosen to, the man could have dominated several more weight classes, like Manny Pacquiao.

But, he had no interest in that. Whenever Hirose brought it up, the boxer just smiled and shrugged, before asking when his next title defense was going to be.

Hirose sighed, putting Yamanaka out of his mind. He had other fighters and trainers to attend to, after all. He stepped into the video room at the gym, nodding to the boxers and trainers gathered there. Four professionals and three teenaged hopefuls, with two more trainers.

“Right. So this is the footage I was able to find. This guy’s just a welterweight highschooler, but you all should be able to learn something.”

Hirose queued up the video - it was only a single angle of a relatively recent high school fight, between Ren Amamiya and Daisuke Setoguchi.

“Watch closely - especially the three juniors.” Hirose said. “This fight shows the importance of your left, and…”

He trailed off. There was a slight murmur in the room as Mamoru Yamanaka stepped into the room, taking a seat at the back. That was unusual - the world champion didn’t usually join in these sessions, unless he was already sitting in the room for other reasons anyway. He was nothing if not polite outside the ring, after all.

Yamanaka smiled, bowing from his seated position. “Please continue, Coach.”

Hirose raised an eyebrow.

Or unless he had a specific interest in the fighter featured in the video.

Hirose suppressed his smile. “Keep an eye on Amamiya. He puts on a clinic with his left, and his conditioning is impressive. I don’t think he slacks on his training at all.”

>>>

May 28, 20xx 

“Sorry about pushing this into the afternoon, Kaoru.” Ren said, smiling at his kouhai from behind dark sunglasses. They were standing in front of Leblanc, getting ready to go for a run. As per Kaname’s instructions, Kaoru was assigned to follow Ren’s workout routine for the week. “I wasn’t feeling well this morning.”

“No problem!” Kaoru did some dynamic stretching, preparing to train alongside his team captain and role model. “Are you sure you’re well enough to train already, though?”

“I’m fine. What makes you say that?”

Kaoru eyed Ren. Despite the fact that it was a cloudy day, his senpai was wearing dark sunglasses and a baseball cap to go along with his workout clothes. He was also working on his third bottle of an electrolyte drink (sugar-free, of course, Ren Amamiya didn’t drink his calories) and had popped an ibuprofen tablet while drinking the second bottle. The first year student had seen this sort of behavior before in his father Munehisa, after a night of reminiscing and drinking with old friends.

Ren winced as an ambulance passed by, the siren wailing.

Kaoru bit back a little laugh. Yep. Ren ‘Wildcard’ Amamiya, the genius boxer with a 6-0-0 record to start the year, was hungover.

“Oh, _nothing_. Nothing at all.”

Ren raised an eyebrow.

“Sassing your senpai already?”

Kaoru blinked - he didn’t want to offend Ren when he hoped to learn from him. “Ah, sorry. I meant--”

Ren flashed a grin from under the shades. “Relax, Kaoru. I deserve that. You’re right. I’ll have to take it a bit easy today anyway. Normally, road work is in the morning, and then gym in the afternoon. Because we don’t have the break, we won’t be able to run as hard.”

Kaoru nodded. That was good. It was a chance for him to ease into Ren’s routine. He had heard from Futaba that the third-year student pushed himself notoriously hard.

“Ready, rookie?” Ren headed towards the road in front of Shujin.

“Yep!”

They started jogging at a brisk pace. Kaoru didn’t let his guard down, though - he knew that Kaname favored interval training over distance running for her boxers, and he was well-used to doing this during the team practices. After a warm-up, Ren glanced over at Kaoru. The first-year grinned, nodding back at his senpai. Time for the interval, as predicted.

Ren took off at a run - slightly slower than Kaoru expected, however - he was able to keep up easily. Automatically, he started to let up when he had run for about six hundred metres, which was the standard distance that Kaname made the club run for their intervals. Kaoru stumbled, double-clutching as Ren didn’t stop for another two hundred metres.

Kaoru quickly started again, catching up.

“Eight hundred metres?” He panted.

Ren nodded. To Kaoru’s eye, his senior was even breathing in a highly controlled fashion. Long exhales to blow off carbon dioxide, probably. 

“There’s a chance I’m going to go pro, Kaoru. The bouts are longer, so my intervals have to be, too.” Ren said. “We’ll still do six intervals, though. One minute breaks in between.”

Kaoru gawked at Ren. That amounted to almost a full extra kilometre of near-sprinting.

Ren looked at Kaoru neutrally. “Don’t worry, though. To make up for the slower pace, when I’m _not_ hungover, the breaks are only about 45 seconds.”

“...haha… ...You’re not joking.”

“It’s going to be a _fun_ week, rookie.”

>>>

“Ah! Here they come!” Ann waved and smiled at Ren as he rounded the corner. “Right on time.”

Shiho, still wearing her Shujin gym outfit from her volleyball practice in the morning, grinned. “After a couple hours’ delay for hangover recovery.”

Ann and Shiho were hanging out at a coffee shop along the Jakuzure River Green Way - one of Ren’s favored running routes. The blonde had texted him earlier to find out if he was still going to be training later in the day. She giggled slightly at Ren’s get up - he was still wearing the sunglasses and baseball cap.

“Not quite sure he’s fully recovered, yet.” Ann leaned over the rail of the cafe’s outdoor seating area, holding out a cup of iced coffee. “Hey, Wildcard. How’re you feeling?”

Ren stopped running for a moment. He gratefully accepted and drank the coffee in one long pull.

Ann laughed. “Ren, you’re going to choke—mm…”

The surprise was only brief at the kiss, stolen as Ann leaned over the rail to take the cup back. She reflexively glanced around her. While the two of them weren’t _that_ shy, this was _really_ public. Her face turned red as she caught the baristas of the cafe smiling and gossiping about the handsome black haired athlete kissing the pretty blonde girl.

“Seriously?” Ann muttered, trying to glare at Ren. Her attempt to remain angry evaporated at his charming, ‘I know you liked it and there’s more where that came from’ grin. He was always so lively when he trained.

Shiho laughed. “Looking pretty good for a guy who had a foot in the grave this morning, Champ. Blondie told me how things went. Glad to hear that meeting Elias-san and Erika-san went well.”

Ann frowned, looking past Ren. “Isn’t Kaoru-kun supposed to be with you?”

Ren shadowboxed, moving lightly. “He’s catching up… Ah. There he is.”

Kaoru stopped beside Ren, his hands on his knees as he doubled over, panting and coughing. “That… that’s the last interval, right?”

“Yep. Good job!” Ren smiled.

“Drink up, Minimiya.” Shiho handed the first year a bottle of water from her gym bag. She looked over at Ren, whose fists were still cutting the air. “You’re pretty fired up there, Ren. First tournament in a year, isn’t it?”

Ren slipped an imagined punch, not missing a beat. “Almost a year and a half, actually.”

Ann watched him a little while longer. She wasn’t sure if this was the best time to bring this up, but between meeting her parents, school, the boxing team, and her job, there wasn’t ever really a ‘good’ time.

“Hey, Wildcard. Next Sunday--”

Kaoru started coughing violently as he tried to simultaneously settle his need for both air and oxygen. Ren started thumping his junior’s back, an apologetic smile on his face.

“Sorry, Kaoru. I should have been paying more attention to how you were doing.”

“N-no. Not at all, senpai. You’re really focused on the tournament, aren’t you?”

Ren smiled sheepishly.

_‘...That’s right. The tournaments in just two weeks. I shouldn’t distract Ren with something like this.’_

“Sorry, Songbird. Something about next week?”

Ann shook her head. “It’s nothing. Shouldn’t you be cooling down now?”

“Yep. See you at school tomorrow. I’ll call tonight.”

Ann accepted the goodbye kiss as Ren took off at a light jog, smiling in mild amusement at Kaoru’s slightly green pallor as the younger boxer ran after his senpai. When he was out of sight, she sighed slightly, sitting back down in her chair.

Shiho arched an eyebrow. “Not like you to _not_ tell him something, Blondie. What’s up?”

Ann shook her head. “It’s nothing. Really.”

“Hm. Wouldn’t have something to do with the fact that one week from today marks the one-year anniversary of when I walked in on a shirtless boxer and a pantsless model sitting at the Takamaki residence kitchen island, about two seconds away from being just a ‘boxer and model’, if you get my drift.”

Ann glared at Shiho. “We were eating breakfast.”

“You were going to be eating _something_ , alright.” Shiho grinned.

Ann laughed at her friend’s sleazy grin. “You’re the worst, Shiho. But that’s probably why I love you so much. It _is_ going to be our one-year anniversary next week. But there’s a lot going on, you know? Ren’s training hard right now. The tournament starts on the eighth, and Ren might have to fight four times in four days. On top of that, I have a shoot next Sunday, anyway. The one year anniversary of when we started dating just doesn’t seem that important by comparison?”

“The fact that you’re stating that as a question should tell you how you really feel about it.” Shiho said, gently. She smiled at Ann. “Ren’s a good guy. I don’t think he’d hold it against you if you mentioned it to him. In fact, doesn’t he like spoiling you? You should just ask him.”

Ann shook her head. “The tournament’s really important to him.”

“So are you.”

Ann sighed. “I know. That makes it even more important for me to not say anything. If I did, he’d probably drop everything and forget about his training just to make a big deal of it. It’s fine. We’ll do something after the tournament. Supporting him in this is more important.”

“Wow.” Shiho intoned, resting her chin on her palm. She regarded her friend with a sly smile.

“Hm?”

“You just sounded really wife-y right there. All mature and stuff.”

Ann laughed with an equal mix of embarrassment and pride. “Come on, Shiho.”

“No, really. All you need is the apron. He’d come home, and be all ‘Taidaima!’ and you’d be all ‘Okaeri! What do you want to eat first? Dinner, or _me_?’”

Ann nearly performed a spit-take with her latte. “ _Shiho!_ ”

“Of course, you’d be doing the naked apron thing--”

Ann threw her napkin at her friend, now laughing mostly out of embarrassment.

>>>

May 31, 20xx 

“Kao-Kao. You alive?” Futaba poked at Kaoru’s cheek with a carrot stick out of her lunch. As usual, the group of first-years consisting of Futaba, Tomoko, Kaoru, and Kaname were seated in the Shujin boxing gym together for lunch. Three of the four were seated, anyway. Kaoru was lying flat on his back as Futaba idly poked his cheek repeatedly with the carrot.

“No.” Kaoru groaned. “And please have more respect for the dead.”

“Wow, Kaoru-kun. Amamiya-senpai is really running you through the ringer, isn’t he?” Tomoko said.

Kaoru sat up, shaking his head. “He’s crazy. Interval running in the morning, boxing in the afternoon, whether or not there’s an actual club practice. I always assumed that when he and the other third years left us to clean at the end of practice, they were heading home. It turns out they all just train _more_.”

“If it’s too hard, you can quit any time.” Kaname motioned nonchalantly with her chopsticks. “ _Renpai_ stuck it out when we did the same thing to him in Kamakura.”

“Who was nii-chan’s senior?” Futaba asked, curiously.

“Who do you think?” Kaname smirked. “I ran him into the dirt. But every time, he just got up, smiled, and kept going. But if it’s too hard, Iwai, we can make some adjustments--”

“I’ll do it.” Kaoru said, glaring at Kaname. There was a surprisingly hard gleam to the normally mild-mannered boy’s gaze.

Kaname didn’t seem surprised. She just nodded once. “I know you will. The assignments weren’t random, Iwai. I placed you with Renpai because I believed you were the only one who stood half a chance at keeping up with him.”

Kaoru brightened.

“A _non-zero_ chance. Which still isn’t high.” Kaname said, with a haughty smile. “Renpai’s a _Takeda_ boxer, after all. It’s just that you’re further along than the other beginners. And I think an infighting, ambidextrous style would work well with your body type, so I want you training with someone who’s got a good left.”

A knowing smile spread across Tomoko’s face. She nudged Kaname, who was sipping her canned tea.

“It seems like you spend a lot of time thinking about Kaoru-kun, Kana-chan.”

Kaname choked. Her face turned red as she coughed violently, glaring at Tomoko.

The black-haired girl was thoroughly unintimidated. She just grinned.

“He’s one of my _boxers_ . I’m his _trainer,_ Tomoko!” Kaname snapped. She looked over at Kaoru, jabbing a finger in his direction like it was her shinai. “ _Don’t_ get any ideas, Iwai!”

“Yes Coach!” Iwai said, reflexively.

Kaname sighed. “Speaking of your style. I have some notes for you. I want you to look these fights up--”

Kaname startled, looking behind her in an uncharacteristic panic.

Futaba blinked. “Kana-chan? Forget something?”

Kaname jumped to her feet. “Yeah. My entire bag. I’ll be right back.”

Tomoko frowned as Kaname took off, out of the gym. “Kana-chan doesn’t have to keep all of her stuff with her anymore, does she? I thought the bullying basically stopped.”

“Yep. All the internet stuff is gone, too… Probably just wanted to get Kao-Kao those notes? She’s as crazy about boxing as nii-chan is.” Futaba made a face as she actually tried _eating_ the carrot from her lunch. “Ugh. Tou-san and Ren-nii are making me eat these. They’d be so much better sliced thin, covered in batter, and then like, _fried_.”

Tomoko rolled her eyes. “Eat your vegetables, Futaba-chan.”

“Don’t wanna. Kao-Kao, your Pocky for my carrots?”

“That’s hardly a fair trade.” Kaoru said, frowning.

“The carrots come with my silence. Kana-chan wouldn’t like to see you eating Pocky before the tournament, right?” Futaba grinned. The student had been learning well from her senpai in trolling, Shiho.

Kaoru laughed. He handed the Pocky over, wincing as he stretched to take the carrots.

“You know, Kaoru-kun… You’re really taking this boxing stuff seriously. I remember when I couldn’t pry you away from your computer. Are you trying to emulate Amamiya-senpai that much?” Tomoko asked.

Kaoru shook his head with a little smile. “Kana-chan works harder for the club than any of us, Tomo-chan. I feel like this is the least I can do, you know?”

“Sounds like you spend a lot of time thinking about Kana-chan, Kaoru-kun.” Tomoko said, grinning again.

“Oh, shut up.”

>>>

Kaname burst into the classroom, startling a few of the students that were seated there having their lunch. She beelined to her desk, rifling through the bag she had left hanging on the hook mounted on the side.

 _‘Stupid of me!... Oh, good. It’s still here.’_ Kaname fished out the old handwrap of Ren’s she had kept - the first one he had been given when he started boxing at her father’s gym. She sighed, annoyed at herself. She hadn’t _meant_ to start bringing it to school. She had fallen asleep holding it that one night, and then… it just ended up going with her to school. It was silly. Completely asinine, really. Using some beat up cloth like a security blanket, or a stuffed animal.

But Ren was getting ready to go on to adult life, alongside a girl - rather, a _woman_ \- he loved dearly. And it wasn’t going to be Kaname. For all of her teasing of Ann about waiting for the bird to sing, she knew. He wouldn’t see Kaname that way. Couldn’t see her that way. He loved her, but only like a sister.

But that in itself wasn’t surprising anymore. What _was_ surprising was that it didn’t _hurt_ as much as she thought it would. Her own life was so… full. Her small group of friends had ways of dragging her out of her shell, but also accepted her for who she was - aggressive personality and all. Even Ren’s group of friends were gradually letting their guard down around her (creepy singing from Makoto notwithstanding).

And then there was the boxing club. And the boxers…

_‘...Or just boxer.’_

Kaname shook her head quickly. No. She’d stick to the plurality of it.

She dropped the hand wrap back in her bag. She wasn’t ready to let go of him. She didn’t want to forget that smile, ever. A stupid reason to bring a memento everywhere with her, she knew. But it was her right to be stupid for a little while longer.

Kaname was so busy chastising herself that she didn’t notice Yuka Sakaki watching her, with interest, from a corner of the classroom.

>>>

June 4, 20xx 

Ren and Kaoru came to a stop outside Shujin, both of them breathing hard. This time, the younger boxer didn’t look green in the slightest - he had adapted quickly over the course of the week.

“Great job, Kaoru.” Ren said, grinning. “You even held up a conversation during the cooldown.”

“Heh… Yeah.” Kaoru panted. “Just running today?”

“Mm. For me, anyway. The training schedule Kana-chan put me on gives me a bit of a break today.” Ren said. “Can’t go full power all the time; risks overtraining.”

“You’d think she would have put the break yesterday, after the club practice we had.” Kaoru said, shaking his head. Saturday had been brutal. Kaname was in a foul mood for some reason. She hadn’t been willing to say anything to Kaoru (or Futaba or Tomoko for that matter) but in his eyes, she seemed distracted - and frustrated at herself for being that way.

“Mm. Haven’t seen her edge towards classic Kana-chan in a while.” Ren said, frowning thoughtfully. “She’s really mellowed out this year.”

Kaoru stared at Ren, feeling a chill down his spine. “ _This_ is a mellow Kana-chan?!”

Ren grinned. “Yep. Works us hard, but none of the borderline sadistic psychological warfare designed to break you down into a whimpering wreck so she can build you back up again.”

Kaoru shivered again. He started stretching, following Ren’s lead.

Ren paused in his stretch, eyeing Kaoru with a little smile. “So. ‘Kana-chan’?”

“! Oh. She said it was alright for me to call her that, as long as it’s not while she’s coaching or training me…” Kaoru said, feeling a little worried. He was fully aware that Ren Amamiya saw Kaname Takeda as a member of his family. “If… it’s okay with you?”

Ren shrugged. “If she says it’s fine, I’d be the last one to get in the way… Anyway. That’s it for the day from me, Kaoru. And for the week, for that matter. You’re on your own program now, aren’t you?”

Kaoru nodded. “Yeah. She’s trying to turn me into an infighter.”

“Really?”

“Mm. She has me watching videos of Tyson, Pacquiao, and a few others…” Kaoru said, scratching his chin. “She had me follow you for the week to see how you train your left. She wants me to keep doing some of your drills, but focus more on closing the distance and weaving.”

Ren looked a little surprised, but smiled again, warmly. “...Make sure you take care of the fist she entrusts to you, Kaoru. It’s a special one.”

“How do you mean?” Kaoru asked, idly shadow boxing as he tried punching from the stance that Kaname had shown him during the week. He was slightly more squared-up to the opponent (especially compared to Ren), with his hands less staggered. It was the ‘peek-a-boo’ stance popularized by Mike Tyson.

“Not for me to say. You’ll see, though.” Ren turned, waving. “Gotta go, rookie. Don’t work too hard. That was a hard run.”

“Thanks, senpai.”

Kaoru grinned to himself, watching as Ren left. He felt a little closer to his goal, chasing the back of Ren Amamiya. He made his way to Shujin Boxing’s gym.

He put his hand on the doorknob, pausing as he heard loud voices inside.

“Can’t you _read_ , Takeda?! If you want it back, you have to quit as club manager!”

“Yeah! And stop spending so much time around Amamiya. Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m not quitting as their trainer, idiot. They’re _my_ boxers. So you can hand it over, and I’ll forget you were stupid enough to try pulling this shit.”

“Heh. Pretty spunky for a cute little thing like that. I can see why you invited me along, Yuka.”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. The first three voices were Yuka Sakaki, another girl, and Kaname. The fourth voice was definitely male.

Kaoru shoved the door open without hesitation.

Yuka spoke again, tossing her braid haughtily. “Well, fine. Then I burn it, then we beat the crap out of you, _then_ Kobayashi here might ‘play’ with you a little. ...Oh? Who the hell are you?”

“Kana-chan! What’s happening--...” He trailed off as he took note of the situation.

There were more than three people confronting Kaname. The petite violet-haired girl was wearing her Shujin tracksuit, holding a broom at her side. She didn’t take her eyes off the five people in front of her - three girls, two boys - all of them looking at Kaname either with irritation or _anticipation_. One of them even had her phone out, filming the confrontation.

“Just taking care of a little rat problem, Iwai. Go home.” Kaname said, calmly. Her green eyes flashed.

“Oh. Is this one of your boxers?” From his voice, that was Kobayashi, Kaoru realized. He wore the uniform of a different school, and he was just a little taller than himself, with spiky dyed-blonde hair. His brown eyes were lit with derision, visible through his carefully styled bangs. His ears were pierced, displaying silver rings prominently. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“He’s more of a man than you’ll ever be, douche.” Kaname replied, smiling pleasantly. “Now, Sakaki. The hand wrap. And _maybe_ you’ll get to walk out of here.”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. She was speaking as if she had complete control over the situation.

 _‘Is she_ **_nuts_ ** _?! It’s five on two!’_

Kaname’s demeanor remained calm, and chillingly pleasant. There was no bravado here. Just pure confidence. Pure _sakki_. She directed her smile at Yuka.

“D-don’t talk like you have the upper hand, Takeda!” Yuka snapped. She took a beat-up, old-looking hand wrap from her purse - along with a lighter. “I’ll do it! And then you can watch it burn while we kick your ass. And that little boxer of yours, too.”

“Hey… hey. This is crazy. We can talk this out.” Kaoru said, shaking his head. “Why does it matter that Kana-chan is around Amamiya-senpai? He’s already dating Takamaki-senpai, and--”

“ _Shut up!_ ” Yuka snarled. “It’s not fair! Takamaki, I can understand. She was there first anyway. Even Sakura, I get. She’s like his little sister. He lives above her dad’s coffee shop, right? But you… you little bitch. You just show up like it’s nothing. The rest of us have to settle, but you just… just _shoved_ your way into his life like you belong there--”

“That’s because I _do_ belong there, Sakaki.” Kaname said, her smile turning into an almost feral grin. She advanced, her grip shifting slightly on the broomstick. “Childhood friend. Grew up with him. _Slept in the same bed_ , sometimes. Does that piss you off? Make you wanna hit me? Why don’t you, then? I’ll even give you a free shot.”

Yuka’s eyes widened. Her hands started to shake.

Kaoru couldn’t believe it. His _tiny_ friend and coach was somehow backing off a group of five. But he didn’t want to see this escalate. He started to step forward again. “Kana-chan, this is crazy. Stop, please--”

“ _Back off_ , Iwai.” Kaname said, her eyes briefly going to Kaoru.

He froze at her gaze. Up until now, he thought the concept of _ki_ and _pressure_ and _fighting spirit_ was an anime or manga thing. Right now, Kaname Takeda was _terrifying._ He had no doubt that she could handle this. But there were five of them. She was going to get hurt, even if she won. And moreover, if Kaname attacked, they could use that against her - Shujin had a strict policy against aggressive behavior. Kaoru was sure that was one of the reasons why one of Yuka’s cronies was filming this. They were using the hand wrap to provoke her.

His eyes focused on the hand wrap. He wasn’t sure why it was so important to Kaname, but the ‘why’ didn’t really matter right now. If he could just get it before anything happened, there wouldn’t be any reason for Kaname to go ahead. It was probably why she had been so distracted on Saturday, too - it was probably stolen from her during the day.

Kaoru darted forwards, performing the ‘dash to the inside’ he practiced during the week as Kaname taught him infighting/swarming techniques. It was well-executed; he moved fast enough that he startled Yuka, making the girl fumble her lighter. His hand shot out like a jab to snatch the hand wrap.

His eyes bulged; pain shot through his stomach as he was punched, _hard_ , by Kobayashi. It was a trained punch - Apparently, Kobayashi wasn’t just some delinquent. Kaoru fell to his knees.

Kobayashi raised an eyebrow, a little smirk on his face. “Not a bad dash. Too bad I’m a boxer, too.”

Yuka sneered - she lit the rolled up cloth on fire, dropping it disdainfully.

Kaoru caught the brief, horrified look in Kaname’s eyes, even if she managed to hide it from her bullies. Ignoring the pain, he lunged forward. Kobayashi reacted instantly, clipping Kaoru with a hard hook to the temple. The first year tried to ignore it, groggily reaching to smother the burning cloth with his bare hands.

“Kaoru! No!” Kaname yelled, suddenly. She beat him there, kicking the burning material away from him.

Kobayashi laughed - he stepped in to hit Kaoru again. The first year grimaced involuntarily, clenching his jaw to take the blow.

A dull thud resounded in the gym.

Kaname stood between Kaoru and Kobayashi; she clutched his head to her body, shielding him. The blonde looked surprised - his punch hadn’t been telegraphed, and the speed was good. But even so, the small girl had effortlessly gotten between them, and his fist had struck her shoulder, right over the meat of her deltoid muscle.

Kaname stood slowly, rolling her shoulder slowly. Apparently, the blow had been harmless.

“...Kobayashi, right?” Kaname asked, turning to face him. She _smiled_.

Kobayashi took an instinctive step backward. “Er… y-yeah. Hey, look. If you’re pissed, you shouldn’t have gotten in the way--”

“Thank you.”

Kobayashi tried to smile; he seemed to be trying to summon some bravado. Something to tip the scales back in his favor. Even though the odds were five on one, now, the blonde second-year student couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling of dread.

“What do you mean? Are you some kinda masochist? Want me to slap you around a little more?”

“Well. To the first question, thank you. For hitting me first, and establishing that this is self-defense for me.” Kaname cracked her knuckles, limbering up her shoulders. “To the second question…”

A blur of motion. Every breath Kobayashi had ever taken was knocked out of him by a perfect left hook to his liver; his legs shook immediately. Doubled over, pale, he looked up at the face of a demon.

“I’m the opposite.”

>>>

“Thanks, Shiho. Sorry to call you back to school after you’ve already left your volleyball practice.” Kaname said, sighing. “I think he’s fine, but I’d appreciate you having a look, too. And I want someone with me in case he faints on the way to the clinic.”

Kaname glanced over at Kaoru, irritation clearly written on her pretty face, alongside the bruise on her cheek. That, along with a few scratches on her hands, were the only marks the gang of five had managed to put on her.

“Yeah. Because he’s too much of a stupid _ox_ to accept an ambulance. See you soon.” Kaname hung up, shoving her phone back into the pocket of her Shujin blazer. She sat down beside the bed where Kaoru rested in the school’s empty infirmary.

“...Thanks, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said, a cold compress covering his eyes.

“You’re welcome. Stupid ox.” Kaname grumbled. “Seriously. I could have handled that. You _saw_ me handle it.”

“I can’t _unsee_ it.” Kaoru said, with a little chuckle. What Kaname lacked in size, she made up for with sheer speed and outright ferocity. There was a reason why Ren called her the ‘little ball of hate in a cute package’. “...Did you have to take _trophies_ , though?”

Kaname glanced over at the table beside Kaoru’s bed in the infirmary. Laying there was Yuka’s braid. Black, with pretty reddish-brown highlights. It looked like it had been roughly hewn off with a dull pair of scissors. Beside the braid, two silver earrings, one with just a little dried blood on it, and a phone with a cracked screen, with marks that were in a semicircle on the plastic on the other side. As if someone had been made to clamp their teeth onto the portable device before getting punched in the jaw. She was glad that Kaoru couldn’t see her grin, looking vaguely reminiscent of that weird blade-slug-spine alien from one of the games that Kaoru kept trying to get her to play with him--

 _‘...Since when did I care about him seeing that side of me?’_ She brushed the thought aside.

“No. But they’re _mine_ now.”

Kaoru slid the compress aside, smiling at Kaname. “Fair enough. ...Ne, Kana-chan?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you kick the hand wrap away from me? I could have put the fire out in time.”

Kaname shook her head. She had done it without a second thought. She’d be lying if she said it was fine; she’d be fooling herself if she said that it was nothing. Casually, she stood, freshening up the compress before putting it back over Kaoru’s eyes.

She quietly wiped at her own eyes, now that he couldn’t see.

“...It was an old keepsake, Iwai. But I don’t think it’s something I need to hold on to. The memory is good enough.” Kaname looked at Kaoru; the compress was still over his eyes. She reached out, taking hold of his hand, turning it so she could look at his palm. “Besides… It was your hands, Iwai. You’re a boxer, aren’t you? Your hands are important.”

“But so was that hand wrap--”

“It’s not as important as _you_.” Kaname snapped, instantly irritated at herself for blurting that out. She was glad that the compress was still over Kaoru’s eyes; it covered the heat she felt creeping up to her ears. She spoke quickly. “...I mean, you’re one of my boxers, aren’t you? What kind of Takeda trainer would I be if I didn’t take care of my fighter?”

“...Right.” Kaoru said, quietly.

Kaname didn’t let go of his hand, though. It felt… _warm._

The door to the infirmary opened. Kaname hastily dropped Kaoru’s hand.

“Hey, Kana-chan. When you called, I was only a couple stops away, so…”

Shiho raised an eyebrow. Kaoru was still lying on the bed; his hands were clasped somewhat unnaturally on his stomach. Kaname was sitting with her back to him, her legs crossed as she apparently read something on her phone.

“...This is interesting.” Shiho said, crossing her arms with a little smirk.

Kaname glared at Shiho. “What is?”

“Oh, nothing. Just those things on the table, there--...Holy shit, is that an actual _braid_? And did you take off some guys’ earrings?! And you took one of their phones?!”

“Just one. The other one, I ripped out.” Kaname shrugged. “The phone was a practical thing. It has the video of the start of the fight. Proof that I was defending myself by winning the fight. I deleted the uh… fun parts… ...You’re not going to tell Renpai, are you?”

Shiho shook her head. “Not my place. He’s busy today, anyway. Remember?”

Kaname nodded. “Mmhm. I’m the one that made sure he has a break from training today, after all.”

>>>

“Nearly done, Takamaki-san! A big smile, now!” The photographer chimed in, encouragingly as the camera flashed again and again.

 _‘You said ‘nearly done’ half an hour ago…’_ Ann thought, annoyed.

“Oh, sorry, Takamaki-san. Just let me make some adjustments…”

Ann paused as the photographer stopped to fiddle with settings on his camera again. He was new; Ann had been as patient as possible, but the man was starting to annoy her. She sighed quietly. Her irritation wasn’t entirely his fault, though. It was her and Ren’s one-year anniversary since they started dating, and as she had planned, they _hadn’t_ planned. She resisted bringing it up all week - and as she predicted, they both were too busy anyhow.

_‘Still, though. It would have been nice for him to see this dress.’_

They were shooting in Ikebukuro’s Chinatown, in the northwest part of Tokyo. And with good reason - Ann was modeling a _qipao_ inspired dress; perfectly form-fitting, with a slit up the skirt. Her long hair was done up in a classic roaring 20’s style. Ann’s expression switched back to a bright smile as the camera flashed again. This time, it really was the last shot. She sighed, heading to the small shop they had borrowed to act as a dressing room for Ann and the other models. It was time to go home, and to make plans for next weekend - _after_ the tournament.

She moved briskly inside, taking a seat at the vanity that had been set up. She glanced down at her phone as someone approached her to help her put away the accessories and dress.

“Thanks. No need to rush, though. I’m going to head straight home.”

“You sure about that, Songbird?”

Ann nearly dropped her phone, snapping her head up to look at the mirror. Sure enough, Ren stood _right behind_ her chair. Her eyes bulged. He was wearing a black suit and white shirt, probably borrowed from Lala at Crossroads. And, _somehow_ , he had done _something_ with his hair. It was… styled. Quite well, too.

“I… Ren… you…?!”

Ren smiled wryly at her before leaning down. “That was the effect I wanted.” He kissed her cheek softly. “Happy Anniversary, Ann.”

“What about the fight?! Shouldn’t you be training?!”

Ren shook his head. “I asked Kana-chan to block this date off weeks ago, when she was first putting together my routine. Can’t train all the time.”

He kissed her again. “...And even if I could, I wouldn’t. This is too important to me.”

Ann spun her chair around and practically pounced on him, throwing her arms over his shoulders; he caught her easily. She kissed him - on the lips - giving him a brilliant smile. “How long were you waiting for me?”

“The last twenty minutes or so.” Ren said, setting her down on her feet. “Don’t be sorry. I love watching you work.”

“Flatterer. So, do I get an anniversary present?” Ann asked, in a winsome tone meant to be taken as a joke. To her surprise, her boyfriend produced a small, neatly wrapped box. “Oh! Ren, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--”

“It’s to make up for White Day. We didn’t do anything…”

“...Well, _technically_ we did.” Ann said, grinning.

“We didn’t even make it out the door, Ann.” Ren said, laughing.

Ann thought back to White Day - at the time, she still thought Ren was going back to Kamakura for good, and in less than a week. So, she hadn’t really wanted to go _out_ for their date. “Mm. True. But I stand by our decision. Still, though… Thank you, Wildcard. Should I open it?”

“Definitely.”

Ann opened the box. She gasped. “Ren…” It was a beautiful vintage styled ornamental hairpin in rose gold, carefully crafted to look like roses and creeping ivy, accented with black enamel and garnets. Somehow, it perfectly matched the dress she was wearing. “This is… this is too much.”

“I disagree. It’s just barely enough.” Ren said. “May I?”

Ann, mystified, nodded.

He took the hair pin out of the box, eyeing Ann’s hair. His dexterous fingers carefully replaced one of the pins holding Ann’s hair up, displaying the hairpin without ruining the work of the stylist. Ann turned to the mirror, gasping lightly and blushing. “You… you practised that, didn’t you?”

Ren blinked, turning a little red himself. “Uh… Yeah. A little. I called my mom, and then she showed me on Facetime…”

Ann covered her mouth, giggling. “You are _so_ cute.”

“Ah. Heh.” Ren rubbed the back of his neck. “So you like it?”

“I love it. I love _you_.” Ann stood up on her toes, kissing him quickly. “It’s amazing how it just happens to suit this dress so well…”

“Not _that_ amazing, Songbird. I found out which dress you were going to model and planned accordingly. I’ve known for a couple weeks.”

Ann shook her head slowly. She turned to face Ren again. “Even _more_ amazing then, Wildcard. I can’t believe you. This… all of this…” She gestured at his suit, his hair. "I think I need a picture.”

“Ah. Takamaki-san! It’s taken care of.” The photographer approached, waving. “Here, have a look. See? You look great! I couldn’t resist, the way you smiled when you saw your boyfriend, and the lighting was perfect—oh, I’ve gone and done something really creepy.”

Ren laughed, even as Ann blushed, looking at the pictures. Her smile was different around Ren. She especially loved the pictures of Ren putting the hairpin in – she looked like she was ready to melt under his touch. But it was sweet. The photographer rambled on.

“I’m really sorry. I’m new, I really love my work, and you’re so easy to work with. Seriously, that’s all. I have a wife and kids and I’m really—”

“It’s okay! Sheesh!” Ann said, laughing. “Just… make sure you send me some prints.”

The photographer looked visibly relieved. “Ah. Sure. I’ll send them through the agency. And I think they’d make a great addition to today’s shot, sort of like a behind the scenes deal…”

Ren shrugged. “I’m fine with it if Ann is.”

Ann blinked. “Really?”

Ren nodded. They said goodbye to the photographer and the rest of the staff; just smiling and laughing to the teasing. Ann clung to his arm. She wasn’t surprised at all that her boyfriend had already somehow obtained permission for Ann to wear the dress for the rest of the evening.

“So, where are we going?” Ann asked, smiling. “I bet we lost our reservation, though… The shoot ran a bit long.”

“Nope. I made the reservation for about 15 minutes from now. I called ahead to the agency, found out they had a new photographer. I figured that you’d be about 30 minutes behind…” Ren said, evenly.

Ann stared at Ren in disbelief. “…seriously?”

Ren just smirked, in a way that made Ann think of the Victorian-era costume and white domino mask of Joker. The devil-may-care grin of a criminal mastermind. “After the heists we’ve pulled? This is pretty easy.”

Ann laughed delightedly. “Alright. And are you really okay with those last shots being submitted? I didn’t think you’d like to be in the public eye.”

“Please. As if they’d use photos of an amateur beside the famous Takamaki-sama.” Ren said. “This suit doesn’t even fit.”

Ann eyed him.

“True. Too tight across the shoulders and back, upper thighs, too… …Well, maybe just tight enough…” She said, running a hand appreciatively down his arm. She laughed. “It’s too bad, though. If I had known about this, I would have taken you out shopping for clothes.”

Ren sighed theatrically. He produced a small slip of paper from his breast pocket, handing it to Ann.

Ann took it, reading it over. It was a hand-written coupon:

**Good for one shopping trip with your boyfriend, where you can treat him as little more than a mannequin for your entertainment.**

Ann’s eyes widened. She looked up at Ren, covering her grin slash gasp with her free hand. “Do… Do you really mean it?!”

He flashed that grin at her again. “Face it, Songbird. You just hit the jackpot.”

Ann shook her head slowly. She stopped walking, looking up at her boyfriend. Even though they were _both_ so busy, he wanted her to feel even more loved. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. “...Hey, Ren?”

“...Ann?”

She checked her phone, looking for the nearest non-sketchy love hotel.

“We’re going to miss that reservation, after all.”

>>>

They stumbled inside the surprisingly tasteful hotel room, their lips locked together, their hands wandering all over each other. He kicked the door shut; she fisted the lapels of his blazer briefly before shoving the jacket roughly off his shoulders. His hands were so strangely careful as he unzipped the delicate zipper on her back. The contrast struck her - how his lips, tongue, and voice (so low, so strained) could seem so completely out of control, while his hands, those perfect, dexterous hands, were so meticulous in the way they glided the expensive dress off of her, carefully putting it aside.

It made sense, Ann supposed. She was just borrowing it.

It also made sense that now that it was off, all reason to be careful was gone.

“Oh… God! Ren!” She gasped, suddenly pinned to the wall. She clawed at his shirt as he kissed and licked at her neck, the swell of her breasts, anything he could get to. She dropped the shirt on the floor as her eyes searched over his shoulder. The couch was nice. The king-sized bed would be good, too. She crashed her lips against his, thrusting her tongue against his in the increasingly wet, deep, reckless kisses that only served to stoke their mutual lust. Ann pushed lightly on his shoulder, trying to catch her breath.

“R-ren… Ren, the bed--”

She yelped, her back thudding against the wall again.

“Ren, what are…” She trailed off, catching the look in his eyes. Pupils dilated; quicksilver irises seemed to gleam. Somehow, even more heat rushed to her face, and she became even more aware of the growing feeling of coiling heat between her legs. In a flash, she recalled that incident in the shower stall on the beach last year, before they had come to a certain _understanding_.

Ann forgot about the bed. The wall was good, too.

She pressed against him, tangling her fingers in his hair and moaning softly as he continued kissing her neck, intermingled with little bites not _quite_ hard enough to leave a mark. She felt him smirk slightly against her skin - he knew exactly what she was thinking about, knew exactly the effect he could still have on her, how she’d just _melt_ right into him.

She bit back, _definitely_ leaving a mark. That drew a quiet curse from Ren before he suddenly hitched her legs up, hooking his forearms under her thighs. He didn’t give her time to be surprised. She was pinioned to the wall, and then he was _in_ her, so deep, so hard. Her body shuddered at the feeling of being so _full_ with him. Ren didn’t give her much time to adjust. He thrusted powerfully into her, her feet not even touching the floor as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She clutched desperately at his shoulders. Rational thought quickly gave way to sobbing moans and cries in time with his movements, pleading entreaties for ‘more’, ‘harder’, ‘faster’—

>>>

“Ann? She’s waiting for your order.” Ren said.

Ann jumped slightly in her seat, snapping out of her daydream. She was sitting across from Ren at their usual late-night hangout - Jonathan’s, the diner in Shibuya - after their little adventure in the love hotel. They really had missed their original dinner reservation. It seemed a bit wasteful after all, to _not_ use the couch and bed that were right there. And then after that, they needed a nap. And then after _that_ , they--

“I can come back in a few minutes…?”

Ann blushed, shaking her head. “Er… I’ll have the _omurice_ , please.”

Ren smirked at her. Evidently he knew _exactly_ what she was thinking about. She supposed she had made it obvious. She had been staring at his forearms, which had made her think of how he had just… _picked her up_. It was still giving her pleasant goosebumps.

Ann raised an eyebrow, deciding to win a point back. “And the gentleman will have the steak and fries. Medium-rare. Gravy on the side.”

Ren blinked, his self-satisfaction replaced with surprise. “How did you…?”

Ann smirked. “You’re always the same, Wildcard. You study the menu, but you only ever order one of three things.”

The waitress hid a little laugh, turning to Ren to confirm.

“...I’ll have the steak. Medium-rare. ...With _salad_.” He said, triumphantly.

The waitress nodded, walking away.

Ann stared at Ren, her chin resting on her palm. Waiting. The corner of her lips still quirked ever so slightly as she watched her boyfriend’s resolve crumble under her gaze.

Ren held fast… for all of ten seconds. He cursed under his breath, hitting the call button to bring the waitress back. “Ah, sorry, miss. I’ll have the fries after all. Gravy on the side.”

The waitress was unable to hide her grin this time. “Of course, sir. Not a problem!”

Ann giggled at Ren’s ensuing sulk at his own predictability, reaching across the table to lightly poke his nose. “What do you expect, Wildcard? I can read you like a book, remember?”

Ren playfully swatted at Ann’s hand, laughing. “Fair enough. One of three things… the other two being the grilled chicken salad or the omurice? That’s still only a one in three chance you would have been correct. How did you know, this time?”

She motioned with a finger for him to lean across the table. She leaned forward to meet him, her mouth beside his ear.

“Every time we’ve ever had sex before dinner, you always eat stuff that’s bad for you. Especially when it was _really_ good.” She murmured, knowing _exactly_ what the soft whisper in his ear would do to him.

Ren sat back, his face red. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He reached for his drink. “Heh…”

Time for the finishing blow.

Ann reached for her own drink. She sipped her iced tea out of her straw, her pink lips delicately closing on the plastic. She peered at him through her long lashes. Ren froze, mid sip. She smirked, knowing exactly what _he_ was thinking of. 

>>>

His dreams were often vivid. A product of a good imagination. There was the dream of a quiet morning in the ryokan, for example. The one that featured Ann. He could always see the individual snowflakes drifting outside the window; the locks of golden hair splayed across the bed.

This was not that dream.

There were just flashes of images. A little smirk. Mischievous blue eyes. Eyes that drifted closed as she kissed and licked him in her usual preamble to taking the head of his cock into her mouth.

But more than brief and disjointed erotic imagery, this dream was _sensation_. Heat and wet friction. The feel of her hands on his skin. Her lips sealed around his erection as she bobbed her head slowly on him, her tongue swirling and lapping at him, her hand stroking and squeezing him.

The pleasure and pressure mounted to a breaking point.

His eyes snapped open as Ren experienced the unusual (but incredibly welcome) feeling of being woken up with an orgasm. He gasped and groaned loudly, 

“Mm. Have a nice nap, Wildcard?” Ann licked her lips, still between his legs, still holding onto him, gently stroking.

“Ah…” Ren moaned. “I did. Waking up was pretty good, too—!! God, _Ann…!”_

She had her lips around him again. More than that, the _sounds_ she made, the quiet clicks, soft moans that sounded like purrs, the little giggle when she pulled away to kiss the tip. Within seconds, she had him ready again. She straddled him, taking him into her hot and wet sex with a pleasured sigh. She arched her back, showing him every centimetre of her body as she rode him hard and fast--

>>>

“Refill, sir?”

Ren blinked, looking up. The waitress smiled at him, holding a pot of decaf coffee.

“Oh. Yes, please.” Ren said. He coughed, trying to hide the pink colour of his cheeks and the probably stupid look he had on his face while daydreaming.

Ann gave him a languid smile, her delicate chin resting again in her hand as she watched him.

Ren smiled back at her. As usual, he found himself drawn in, fascinated by her. She was beautiful, of course. Anyone who looked at her knew that. But he was the only one who _really_ knew. How she looked half-asleep as they binge watched some show on Netflix. How her eyes lit up on seeing a new text from Shiho, a mix of amusement and anticipation as she waited for her best friend to deliver her latest wisecrack. 

And he was _certainly_ the only person who knew what she looked like in private, in the night. The way she looked when she gave herself to him, when he gave himself to her. When they confirmed yet again that there weren’t any barriers anymore.

“Ren? You’re staring.” Ann said. She reached across the table, her fingers intertwining with his.

Of course she knew why. She was already smiling, the beginnings of a pretty blush on her cheeks.

“...Just happy, Songbird.” Ren said. “Just happy that I get to see all of your expressions. That we’re right here, together.”

“Me too.” Ann said. She glanced at her phone as it buzzed. “Oh. Shiho says that Kaoru’s fine. Not even a concussion as far as Takemi-sensei can tell.”

Ren shook his head. “I’m glad. He trained really hard this week, it would be a shame if he had to sit out his first tournament. I’m surprised he managed to keep up, honestly. Especially since I switched to a routine that reflects a pro fighter.”

“So you decided, then?” Ann asked. “You’re going to take the pro exam?”

He was still uncertain. “Just making sure I’m ready in case I do. I’m still not sure, Ann. I feel like I’m missing something. Going into something dangerous like that without any reason other than ‘wanting to see the world from Mamoru Yamanaka’s perspective’ doesn’t feel right. It’s not tangible.”

Ann frowned. “Does it need to be tangible?”

“I think so?” Ren sighed. “I have career prospects. There’s always the inn to fall back on, too. So I don’t really need the money from fighting. Not interested in the fame, either. Last year… Last year, I think we succeeded _because_ of how much was at stake. We all pulled things off because there simply wasn’t any other option. Going into a dangerous sport without any tangible motivation seems to be a good way to get my head knocked off.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Ren shook his head. “For now, just keep doing what I’m doing. Shoot for Waseda University, get to the top of high school boxing. I didn’t have the opportunity last year, so I’m not lacking in motivation for _that_.”

Ann perked up. “Waseda? You decided on your top choice?”

Ren grinned. “It’s your top choice, isn’t it?”

Ann blinked. “How did you know?”

“It’s known for its business program more than anything else, Ann. And although they have a pretty intensive regular program, they also have a new, more flexible option that allows for some online classes, don’t they?”

“...You looked into it?” Ann said. Her blush deepened; she smiled happily.

“I wanted to have a rough idea of where you were likely to go, but I knew that you didn’t want to influence my choice. You want me to make the best possible choice for my career, whether it’s journalism or boxing.” Ren said. “But the truth is, Ann, you make me a better boxer and student. A better _person_.”

He squeezed her hand.

“So, the best possible choice for me is being with _you_.”

>>>

June 8, 20xx 

“Right. Iwai, your first opponent is an outboxer, so get in tight, just like we practiced. Lay in the body blows. Short, compact. Nothing wide. You’ll lay on the damage, and eventually he’ll either lower his guard or lose his legs-- Are you even listening, you dumb ox?!”Kaname shouted

It was the day of the inter-high tournament, hosted in Shujin’s gymnasium. The wall partitions had been taken down; the gym was wide open with multiple rings set up. Several fights were already ongoing. Kaoru was fixated on Ren’s first match in the welterweight division. The captain of Shujin’s boxing team was dancing circles around his relatively inexperienced opponent, peppering him with jabs and combinations. Eventually, the referee crossed his arms for a standing TKO.

Kaname grabbed Kaoru’s headgear, shaking it. “Wake up, Iwai! Seriously!”

Shinoda, standing behind Kaname, raised his hands. “Er… Kana-chan, not so rough--”

“It’s fine, Coach Shinoda.” Kaoru nodded. “Got it! Stick to the inside, compact blows. Hook to the head or short upper when the guard drops. ...Say, Manager. Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“How did Amamiya-senpai do, in _his_ first tournament?”

“He won his division. 4-0, 2 knockouts, 2 decisions. Why? You can’t compare yourself to him, Iwai. At that point, Renpai was boxing already for seven years. You can’t expect--”

“If I win my division, will you go out with me? To the summer festival.”

“... _What?!”_

>>>

Taka Hirose sat in the stands, watching in some amusement as a violet-haired girl wearing a Shujin gym uniform started slapping at the headgear of one of her boxers repeatedly, her face bright red, her green eyes flashing. He chucked in amusement as Tetsuya Shinoda stood there helplessly, trying to calm Shujin’s club manager and de facto trainer down.

“I forgot how lively high school boxing can be, honestly. She’s Shinji Takeda’s daughter alright.” Hirose said, chuckled. He turned to his right. He blinked, jumping to his feet. “Yama-kun? Leaving already?”

Mamoru Yamanaka turned back, already walking down the steps to get off the bleachers. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap at Hirose’s behest - the manager pointed out that the presence of the world champion at a high school event might distract the fighters, and Yamanaka had quickly agreed. He waited for his coach to catch up.

“I’ve seen enough, Hirose-san.” Yamanaka said, glancing back as Ren Amamiya stepped out of the ring, greeted by Ann Takamaki and Kaname Takeda. The lanky boxer was filling out; it was clear why he had moved up to welterweight. He bumped fists with the smaller boxer that Takeda had been smacking moments ago; the younger fighter stepped into the ring.

The two men walked in silence towards the train station. Yamanaka took off the baseball cap and sunglasses.

“Ne, Hirose-san.”

“Yeah, Yama-kun?”

“Who’s the WBC champion of the welterweight division right now?”

Hirose frowned, thinking. “...Ah. Danny Porter, an American. He trains out of New York.”

“What’s the most direct way to challenge for the welterweight title?” Yamanaka asked, idly polishing the sunglasses.

“...Yama-kun. You’re not thinking of trying to take over another weight division?! Why now, of all times?!”

Yamanaka smiled. To Hirose’s eye, it wasn’t happiness so much as _anticipation_.

“It would be rude of me to ask Amamiya-kun to drop back to lightweight just to meet me, Hirose-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weird blade-slug-spine alien: Kaname wields the power of scary Hydralisk grin.
> 
> Why Kaoru is being called an ox/why Kaname started slapping him around: Kaoru --> Kao-Kao --> cow --> ox. And the smacking around is because Kaname's never had anyone actually reciprocate before, and she just can't deal with the feels. They weren't HARD slaps. And headgear was on :)
> 
> Some fun GtD trivia (fun for me, anyway): The hairpin gift/scene was originally a White Day fic that happens the week before Ren leaves for home. In the original, he spends the date being a little bemused at any reference to Ann being sad to see him go (because he's already set up the deal to return to Tokyo but hasn't told anyone). For some reason, I liked the idea of them not even making it out the door this time around in the 'finished' version of GtD, with how Ren and Ann are.
> 
> “Face it, Songbird. You just hit the jackpot.” - Couldn't resist :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inter-High Featherweight finals against an unexpected opponent; the Adachi Fireworks Festival. Ren's first autograph, and the lead up to a summer in Kamakura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petroleum jelly - Vaseline. Sometimes placed on a cut in boxing so any subsequent blows slip off rather than open it up again  
> Enswell - ice cold stainless steel compress  
> Epinephrine in cuts - causes vasoconstriction  
> Avitene - sterile collagen stuff, meant to encourage faster clotting  
> harai goshi - type of judo hip throw  
> hikikomori - Shut in

June 11, 20xx

“There.” Kaname said, applying a small amount of petroleum jelly to the shallow cut over Kaoru’s eye. She grumbled. “That should prevent it from getting opened up. Honestly, I can’t believe you’re inept enough to actually get cut despite boxing in headgear, Iwai.”

Kaoru smiled awkwardly. “Heh. Sorry, Coach.”

“Just go and warm up!” Kaname snapped, gesturing at the corner of the gym. She watched as her fighter started to shadowbox, glaring at him. But, even she knew she didn’t really have any good reason to be irritated.

It was the final day of the tournament; Shujin was doing well. Ren and Shou had already won their respective divisions, and Eiji had narrowly lost in the finals of the bantamweight division to the judges’ decision. The beginners mostly bowed out on the first or second day of the tournament, as expected, with the remarkable exception of Kaoru: the source of her vexation.

_ ‘If I win my division, will you go out with me?’ _

Kaname huffed, resisting the urge to march over to Kaoru and… and… slap him. Yeah. That was all. Just slap him. Not hug him, or hold his hand, or—

“Son of a bitch.” Kaname muttered, interrupting her own train of thought. She crossed her arms, watching him continue to warm up.

His gloved fists thudded against the wall, he breathed sharply through pursed lips. It didn’t make sense. The first year was nothing like Ren. He was shorter (though still taller than Kaname), had neatly cut hair, and he lacked that same sublime confidence and skill. The prototypical ‘good boy’.

But, he had this way of focusing. Of being completely in love with boxing. And it wasn’t that he was bad looking. In fact, he…

“He looks good.” Ren said, coming to stand beside Kaname. His hands were still wrapped up; a towel was over his shoulder.

“What are you talking about?! He does  _ not _ !” Kaname jumped, startled. She quickly regained her composure. “...Renpai, you should be jogging off the lactic acid, or on the stationary bike. What the hell are you--”

“Already done, Kana-chan. You’re pretty fired up.” Ren said, smiling wryly. “So’s Kaoru, for that matter. He’s had a hell of a tournament.”

Kaoru had won his first fight by a turnaround TKO - he was losing on points until the third round, when a hard right body blow followed by a left hook forced the referee to end the match in his favor. After that, the first-year seemed to get increasingly focused with each successive match. Yesterday, he had won in the first round after almost instantly closing the distance and pounding left and right hooks repeatedly into his opponent’s solar plexus and flanks.

Ren nodded. “I wonder why he might be so motivated…?”

Kaname wrung the towel in her small hands as she remembered exactly  _ why _ he was so motivated.

>>>

“If I win my division, will you go out with me? To the summer festival.”

“...What?!”

Kaname was instantly overwhelmed - shock, of course. Also outrage at the fact that Kaoru would be distracted by something like that before his first boxing tournament. And just a  _ little _ bit of something like happiness and elation. All of it combined together into a whirling ball of confusion and warmth that made her want to run out of the gym but she she couldn’t run out of the gym because she was the trainer but she couldn’t just stand there either and why was he just  _ staring _ at her—

Altogether, it provoked a fairly predictable reaction from the pint-sized trainer.

She started smacking him. With both her open hand and the towel she held.

“Ow! Ow! Jeez, stop, Kana-chan!”

“What’s wrong with you?! Why would you even ask something like that before a boxing tournament?! Aren’t you about to have your first competitive boxing match?!”

“As friends! As friends, I meant as friends!”

“...Oh.” Kaname stopped smacking him. That was alright. Going to the festival with Kaoru, Tomoko, and Futaba. But it was an unusual way to ask. Why would he have to win anything for her to agree to that? And… Why did she feel disappointed?

“...Ah, sorry, Kana-chan. It’s fine. Just a stupid thought.” Kaoru said, sheepishly. He nodded to Shinoda, who popped his mouthguard in. The first-year boxer turned to the ring.

Kaname reached out, impulsively grabbing the back of his jersey.

“Ne, Iwai…”

Kaoru started to look back. He jumped as Kaname’s eyes flashed and she barked at him.

“Eyes forward, Iwai! Your opponent’s ahead of you!” Kaname barked. He turned back towards the ring instantly. Kaname was relieved - he hadn’t seen the blush on her cheeks, or what she felt was the pathetically shy look in her eyes. She didn’t let go of his jersey, though. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “...If you look good in this tournament, I’ll go out with you. ...As friends.”

>>>

Still, he was fighting awfully hard for someone who wanted to go out on a platonic friend date.

Kaoru’s gloved fist thudded into the wall, feeling both excited to fight and annoyed with himself for chickening out.

_ ‘Seriously. ‘As friends’? So freaking gutless…’ _

He shook the thought off. He couldn’t afford to be thinking of that right now.

His name was called for the featherweight finals. He nodded to Kaname, Ren, and Shinoda as he passed them and climbed into the ring; his focus was razor sharp. The jitters of being in a boxing match were already gone from the first-year; likely a function of the ‘close and personal’ fighting style Kaname had chosen for him. It didn’t leave much time or space to feel hesitation.

Going 3-0 in his first tournament was already exceptional. But his next opponent was troublesome - and another reason why Kaoru was so fired up. He was someone who they had sighted earlier on in the tournament, dominating his matches with a fast-faced, outboxing/counter-punching style. Someone who between matches gingerly nursed a torn earlobe, where an earring had been savagely ripped out (said earring currently adorned Kaname’s wall, right beside Yuka’s braid).

Hiroto Kobayashi smirked at Kaoru from across the ring. 

The two combatants approached the Center of the ring, barely listening to the referee.

“Huh. So a little rookie like you made it all the way to the finals. You were lucky enough to upset Sawamura in the first round, so you had an easy go the rest of the way, huh? Now that you’re up against me, are you gonna fight, or are you going to get that little bitch to take over for you again?”

Kaoru glared at Kobayashi.

“Hey! That’s enough.” The referee said. “If I hear any trash talk during the fight, I’ll toss  _ both _ of you. Let’s have a clean fight, boys. Touch gloves.”

They tapped their gloves; Kaoru stared Kobayashi down - the blonde just sneered. They returned to their corners.

Kaoru quietly clenched his fist as Kobayashi and his coach laughed about something together before looking across at him - and then laughed again, obviously looking at Kaoru.

“Iwai.”

Kaoru turned; Kaname stood in his corner, alongside Shinoda.

“The fight’s already started.” Kaname said. She shot a look across at Kobayashi. She grinned at him, touching her right earlobe. The blonde paled slightly, before turning away with an irritated huff. “He’s a good boxer, but he’s cocky. He thinks you’re here because you’re lucky. Show him he’s wrong. Stick to  _ your _ boxing.”

“Right!” Kaoru nodded.

The bell rang. Kaoru turned to the center of the ring, raising his fists in his tight ‘peek-a-boo’ guard. He dashed in, closing the distance in an instant.

His head snapped back from the impact of a sharp jab; sweat from his warmup flew into the air.

Kaoru froze to the spot, stunned. He hadn’t even  _ seen _ the jab. Wide-eyed, he looked at his opponent, keeping his guard up.

Kobayashi’s mocking sneer was gone. The spiky haired blonde boxer was moving around the ring, holding his orthodox fighting stance. His shoulders jogged lightly as he watched Kaoru, circling clockwise around his opponent - with his single jab and the pressure from his stance, he had already herded Kaoru into the middle of the ring.

“KaoKao! Move your butt!” Futaba yelled from the bleachers. “Don’t camp your spawn point!”

Ren cursed quietly. “Shit…”

Kobayashi was obviously different from Kaoru’s previous opponents - the boy with the dyed-blonde hair was clearly an experienced boxer, despite only being in second year. Like Ren, he had been boxing for years before entering high school competition. That much was clear from the way he circled Kaoru, keeping him pinned with jabs and straights.

Kaoru was under siege - from his perspective, the punches were coming from all directions, all angles. All he could do was keep his guard up, absorbing punches to his gloves and forearms.

“Damnit, Iwai! What the hell did I just say?! Is  _ this _ your boxing!?” Kaname screamed, slamming her fist on the canvas. “Who the fuck taught you to turtle?!”

The referee reflexively looked at Kaname, starting to admonish her. He wilted under her emerald glare before turning back to the match.

“Move it, Kaoru! You have to do something, or he’s going to call it a TKO!” Ren shouted, looking at the referee. Sure enough, the man was already starting to raise his arms.

Kaoru shrugged off a jab - he charged in towards Kobayashi, slipping a straight, and swinging wide with a desperate right.

He was hit with a glancing left-counter, just as the bell rang for the first round.

The first year boxer moved back to his corner, his eyes wide in shock. Shinoda quickly put a stool down in the corner as he and Kaname got into the ring, facing him. Kaname checked his cut; Shinoda brought up the water.

Kaname shook her head. “Who the hell taught you to just charge in like an idiot, Iwai?! It sure as hell wasn’t me!”

Kaoru shook his head. “I… it’s amazing. I couldn’t even get close, until that last charge. He’s… he’s like Amamiya-senpai, isn’t he? He’s been boxing for years.”

Kaname looked at Kaoru - being stopped mid-dash and being under siege hadn’t done much in terms of physical damage. Her boxer’s guard was solid. But in all of his previous matches, his opponents hadn’t been able to adjust to his swarming, close-in style fast enough, and Kobayashi’s jab was close to professional level. Kaoru’s burgeoning confidence was shaken.

She looked back over her shoulder at Kobayashi. The blonde smirked at her.

“Mother f…” Kaname snarled. She turned back to Iwai, gripping his headgear. “Exactly. The last charge, Iwai. What did you do to get inside?”

“I charged forward. I dashed, used my legs--”

“What  _ else _ did you do?” Kaname said, giving his headgear a shake.

“I… I don’t know!”

“Seconds out!” The referee called.

Kaname stood up. She started to speak, but just shook her head. “Then you’d better figure it out, Iwai.”

She stepped out of the ring.

Ren looked at Kaname. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

Kaname shook her head. “I almost forgot that the main goal here isn’t to win. The main goal is to  _ learn _ . He’s a first-year boxer, but his spirit and his success so far actually made me forget that. He’s trained hard, but he needs to learn to trust that training. He needs to learn to trust himself. If he can figure it out against a more experienced opponent, win or lose, he’ll learn far more today than if I just tell him.”

“...Starting to sound like your dad, Kana-chan.” Ren smiled warmly at her, fondly patting her head.

Kaname squeaked, looking up at Ren with a faint blush on her cheeks. Even though that door was closed, it didn’t mean he still didn’t have  _ some _ effect on her.

The bell rang.

Once again, Kaoru found himself in the center of the ring, being peppered by jabs and straights.

_ ‘What else did I do?’  _ Kaoru thought, wincing as a jab struck his headgear close to his cut.

He braced himself, darting in towards Kobayashi.

A one-two combination stopped him, slamming into his guard. Kobayashi danced back.

_ ‘What else… I just charged in! Like always!’ _

He tried again - the one-two led to a three, the left hook knocking him down.

The referee started to count; Kaoru jumped to his feet, shooting a look at the referee.

“I can fight!”

“He should have stayed down until the eight, to rest.” Ren shook his head. “He’s panicking… He isn’t thinking. We might have to throw in the towel, Kana-chan. I’m not sure he’ll figure it out.”

“He will.”

“Kaoru’s just a first year, he--”

“He will!” Kaname snapped. Still, though - her hands wrung the towel anxiously. While there were other beginners, Kaoru was the one she had become most invested in. It almost felt like she was in the ring with him. She had faith in him.

Her eyes lit up as those shoulders, broader now than when he had started the year, began to weave.

“He’s got it!” Kaname shouted, slamming her fist on the mat. “GET AFTER HIM, IWAI!”

The circular blow from the side - Kobayashi’s left hook - had reminded Kaoru of what he had done at the end of the last round, when his body was moving on instinct, his mind unable to think. He hadn’t just charged in at Kobayashi - that was all that Kaoru’s previous opponents had needed, whether by luck or by Kaoru’s impressive leg strength. In that last charge, he had weaved sideways around a straight right before swinging wide and getting hit by a glancing left counter.

Now, he recalled everything. All the teaching Kaname had done with him cut through the panic.

_ ‘Iwai. You’re not incredibly lanky, and your arm span is a little shorter than average. But you’re naturally a hard-puncher… So we use it. Having shorter reach means that you can’t hit people from as far out, true. But it also means that close in, it’s easier for you to hit  _ **_hard_ ** _. You just need to get there. Bob and weave, like I showed you. Under this rope. You stop when I  _ **_say_ ** _ you stop.’ _

His mind’s eye remembered, now. The reason why it had been a glancing blow - Kobayashi saw his punch as a threat, and had reflexively fired off the counter before he could really get set for it. Kaoru’s punches were alive, and they had the power to back Kobayashi off.

Kaoru shot forward again, this time bobbing and weaving efficiently around jabs. In an instant, he was in tight to Kobayashi, inside the taller boxer’s range.

_ ‘When you get inside - and you will, if you’re a Takeda boxer - you get to work. Crowd him. Smother him. Shoulder and chest into his left, keep your hands free. Every second you’re there, hard and compact to the body, the head, anything you can hit. Frustrate him!’ _

Kaoru leaned his chest against Kobayashi’s left arm; the taller boxer immediately started shoving at him, trying to force him away. Kaoru stuck with him; he slammed short hooks and uppercuts into the second year’s abdomen with his right, while his left came up, smashing repeatedly into his raised guard with short hooks.

_ ‘He’ll get frustrated. They always do. If he’s not used to you, he’ll try to shove you - hard. And when he does…’ _

“What the hell!” Kobayashi hissed, cursing as another short hook knocked his breath out of him. “This isn’t boxing, it’s just wrestling, you piece of shit…!”

He placed a glove in Kaoru’s face, shoving hard.

Kaoru sidestepped and pivoted; the space between them opened up just enough.

Kaoru’s right straight nailed Kobayashi full on in the face. He crashed to the mat, staring up at the ceiling, wide-eyed.

“Neutral corner!” The referee shouted, waving at an equally surprised Kaoru.

“Fucking RIGHT!” Kaname screamed, excitedly jumping up and down. She grinned, beating the canvas with her palm. “You laid the douchenozzle right the fuck out!”

Ren shook his head as Kawakami, watching from the sidelines in her role as faculty advisor for the club, gave the two of them a sharp look. “Kana-chan… You’re a student here. You really should watch your language a  _ little _ .”

She didn't even notice his admonishment. Instead, Kaname beamed at Ren. “Did you see that? I taught him that.”

“I know.” Ren said, smiling at the look of sheer pride in Kaname's expression.

Kaoru watched, his jaw dropping as the referee started to count.  _ ‘...Did I just win? Did I just win my division?!’ _

Kobayashi gasped, sitting straight up at the seven. He lept to his feet, raising his hands. “Fine! I’m fine, I can fight!”

“Show me your stance, kid.” The referee said, carefully scrutinizing Kobayashi’s eyes. “Where are you?”

“Shujin Academy.”

“ _ Who _ are you?”

“The guy who’s going to kick that shit out of that shrimp. Hiroto Kobayashi.” He growled.

Kobayashi moved forwards as the referee signaled for the match to continue. A barrage of rapid lefts shot at Kaoru, who slipped or parried the blows. The shorter boxer waited for a right straight - and bobbed under it, delivering a right body blow to his enraged opponent before getting into extremely tight range again.

“Damnit!” Kobayashi cursed, shoving at Kaoru’s head. His legs started to shake as the damage of the surprisingly hard body blows started to come through.

“Stop!” The referee barged in, separating the two.

Kaname’s eyes widened. “Holy shit… is he calling it? For Iwai!?”

Ren frowned. “No. Look. He’s looking at Kaoru’s face-- ah,  _ damn _ .”

The bell rang for the end of the round. Kaoru turned towards his corner - in the shoving match, his cut had been reopened.

Kaname’s eyes widened. She motioned at Kaoru. “Over here! Move it, Iwai!”

The stool was shoved into the corner by Shinoda; the coach of Shinoda Boxing immediately got the boxer’s headgear off, using a towel to compress the cut.

Eiji approached Ren, looking on in concern. “If he’s bleeding, it’ll be a doctor-stop, won’t it, aniki?”

“I wouldn’t worry.” Ren said, smiling. “We’ve got one of the best cut-men in the business. ...Well. Cut-girl, anyway.”

Sure enough, Kaname was working quickly, going through the kit she kept in a small belt pouch.

“Shinoda-san, get the Enswell!” Kaname barked.

The older man didn’t seem surprised - he was a friend of Shinji Takeda’s, after all, and knew the role that his friend’s daughter performed for Takeda Boxing when she was in Kamakura. He applied the ice-cold metal stainless style metal block against the cut.

Kaname knelt in front of Iwai, holding up a cotton swab. “This is going to sting a bit, Iwai.”

Iwai didn’t react, instead focusing on Kobayashi, who was watching the proceedings from the other side of the ring.

“What’s she doing, aniki?” Eiji asked.

“Epinephrine soaked cotton swab. Causes the capillaries to constrict. Next, she’ll dab in some Avitene.”

“Seconds out!” The referee called. He walked over to inspect Kaoru’s cut. He blinked, surprised - the cut was already completely clotted over.

Kaname grinned. “Still got it.”

The bell rang again.

Kaoru darted forward without hesitation. He bobbed and weaved past fending jabs and parried others, burying Kobayashi in tight with punches. The experienced boxer looked visibly frustrated as he was pushed back into the ropes. Kobayashi looked over Kaoru’s shoulder as more punches struck him in the stomach, progressively winding him.

Kobayashi grit his teeth. He performed a messy check-hook, managing to reverse their positions along the ropes so that the referee’s view was momentarily blocked. Using his height and broad shoulders, he concealed his hands and Kaoru from the ref’s view before getting to work.

Kaname yelled. “Damnit! Use your eyes, ref!” She pointed frantically - the view from Shujin Boxing’s corner was clear.

Kobayashi had his right hand over the back of Kaoru’s neck; his left glove wasn’t  _ punching _ him, but instead shoved in his face, using the prominence of one rounded edge to grind and twist away at Kaoru’s cut. Soon, some red blood was visible on Kobayashi’s white glove.

“Break! That’s enough!” The referee yelled, separating the boxers from the clinch. He glared at Kobayashi. “I said to keep it  _ clean _ , Kobayashi!”

“Not my fault the rookie gets in close.” Kobayashi said. “Accidents happen.”

Kaoru’s cut was open again, but thankfully not dripping blood. The referee looked at Kaoru.

“If that opens up any more, son, I’m calling the match. This is high school boxing, not the pro ring.”

“Yes sir.” Kaoru replied, taking a fighting pose.

“Box!” The referee called.

Kaoru dashed in again - only to be stopped by a barrage of lefts, all aiming directly at his right eye.

“Shit!” Kaname cursed, shaking the lower rope with her hand. “He’s trying to open it up! Iwai! Keep your guard up!”

Ren shook his head. “He can’t get in as easily, now. He has to concentrate too hard on protecting his right eye.”

Kaname shook her head. She looked at the round-timer. Just a minute left, and they were still probably behind on points.

“...Iwai! Forget your cut! Get inside! You need to finish this  _ now _ !”

Kaoru shot in - stopped again by a left jab, and then a left hook to his eye. More blood was there now, obscuring his vision as it dripped down. He glanced at the ref - the man was circling, trying to get a better look at his face. Kaoru raised his glove to conceal it, darting in again.

_ ‘He’s just going to aim for my right eye. If I know that, then…!’ _

Kaoru slipped to his right, to the outside of the left jab aimed at his eye. He then bobbed under the left hook, slamming a short uppercut into Kobayashi’s chin as he got inside, momentarily stopping the blonde boxer, allowing him to lean on Kobayashi’s left arm with his right shoulder, smothering any further jabs. He was in.

“IWAI! Iwai, don’t let him get away from you! It’ll be a doctor stop if you do! You need to finish this!”

Vision in one eye obscured by blood, his fists slammed rapid-fire into Kobayashi’s gut. The taller boxer tried to clinch, tried to press down on Kaoru.

Kaoru dipped his knees in response, creating space, before rising into another brutal short upper-cut that blew the taller boxer’s guard back. A right hook, left hook, and right straight nailed Kobayashi’s headgear in rapid succession, sending him to the mat for the second time during the match.

“Neutral corner!” The referee shouted.

“Shit… What happens if he gets up?” Eiji asked.

Kaname glanced at the clock. There were only 12 seconds left in the match.

“If he gets up, it goes to the judges’ decision.” Kaname said. “It’s hard to call. I think Kobayashi’s ahead on points from the first round and for probably at least half the second. The third was Kaoru’s… it would have been overwhelmingly his if Kobayashi hadn’t started targeting his cut.”

“Eight! Nine!”

Kobayashi got to his feet.

“Fighting stance, Kobayashi!”

He raised his hands; his eyes were alive.

“Fight!”

The bell rang before they could resume. It was up to the judges.

“To your corners, both of you.” The referee said. He paused, looking at Kaoru. “...Get that looked at, son.”

Kaoru panted, sitting on the stool as Kaname tended to his cut again, this time applying a bandage (bandages weren’t allowed to be on during the course of the match). “How… how did I do, Coach?”

“You were a Takeda boxer.” Kaname said, simply.

“No need to be so stoic, Kana-chan. Should have seen the way she was grinning at you, Kaoru.” Ren said, impishly, leaning on the lower rope from ringside.

Kaname squawked, turning red as she glared at Ren.

The referee returned to the ring with the decision; both boxers approached him. “The winner, by split decision… The red corner, Hiroto Kobayashi!”

The referee raised the hand of the experienced boxer. He then glared at both boxers sternly - reluctantly, the two touched gloves again, bowing  _ slightly _ .

Kaoru sighed, exiting the ring. For a moment, he felt like he had done it - like he had managed to replicate the feat of his senpai by winning his first boxing tournament. The feeling of standing over his fallen opponent as the count reached nine still hadn’t left him - that feeling of triumph, of celebration--

He yelped as he was abruptly lifted onto the shoulders of Shou and Eiji, the two former delinquents cheering loudly. The three of them were quickly surrounded by the remainder of Shujin Boxing, as well as their friends and family in the stands.

“Holy shit, Minimiya freaking DID it!”

“3-1 in his first tournament as a boxer! Are you kidding me?!”

“KaoKao for the win!” Futaba crowed. Tomoko laughed, snapping pictures with a camera borrowed from the AV club.

“Nice fight, Iwai-kun.” Kawakami smiled.

Makoto nodded. “Nice job, Kaoru-kun. Ryuji says congratulations.”

Ann looked at Makoto curiously. “Where is that guy, anyway? I thought he would have loved to see something like this.”

“Hm? Ah, he’s at work.” Makoto replied, shrugging.

“Must be at another job, then. I closed the shop up to come see this. Nice work, Kaoru!” Munehisa said, grinning around his ever-present lollipop as he descended the bleachers. “Hell of a fight! I’m freaking  _ proud _ of you!”

“But… But dad, I didn’t even win!” Kaoru protested, still on the shoulders of his teammates.

Ren shook his head, pointing over at Kobayashi’s corner. The team captain grinned. The blonde boxer kicked over a folding chair as he stormed out, headed to the change room. “He doesn’t think he won either, Kaoru. But if you don’t believe me, ask your Coach.”

Kaname stood in front of Eiji, Sho, and Kaoru, quietly. She looked up at Kaoru, frowning. “We have a lot to work on, Iwai. I’m not happy that you had to be knocked around to actually remember what I taught you.”

“...Sorry, Coach.”

Kaname nodded firmly; she smiled slightly. “...But, nice fight. You looked good out there.”

Kaoru chuckled sheepishly. “...Heh. Thanks…”

Tomoko and Futaba bounded up, throwing their arms over Kaname’s shoulders. “Let’s celebrate! Shujin’s first successful boxing tournament!”

>>>

“Thank you, thank you!” Shou dodged the empty soda can tossed at him by Eiji. “For my next song--”

“Get off the stage, Shou!” Eiji groaned. “We don’t need to hear ‘Champion’ for the third time!”

“Hey bro, you know the rules - I went 4-0, you went 3-1. That means it's  _ Shou _ -time.”

“I hate you  _ so _ much right now.”

The Shujin Boxing team (plus friends) were gathered to celebrate their successful tournament in one of the larger rooms at  _ Rainbow Karaoke _ in Shibuya; big enough to accommodate ten boxers and several of their supporters. Ann gingerly took her hands away from her ears as she sat beside Ren, shaking her head.

“That was… interesting.” She said, politely.

“Hm? What was?” Ren was staring at her, but apparently wasn’t listening incredibly closely.

“The song.” Ann said, smirking. She had an idea of why Ren was distracted - she was trying out a new summer outfit: a white graphic tee, off one of her shoulders and knotted to show her midriff, with denim short-shorts. The shirt also had the advantage of hinting at the bikini top she was wearing underneath.

“Ah, yeah. It’s one of the few songs out there that’s actually about boxing…” Ren put his arm over Ann’s shoulders, laughing. “I introduced it to the boys last year, and it’s become a running gag between Shou and Eiji. Eiji criticizes, but he’s really about as good as Shou. Which is to say they  _ both _ sound like dairy cows with indigestion.”

“Aniki…” Shou and Eiji both looked at Ren with puppy-dog eyes.

“I’m firm on that, guys. Seriously.” Ren grinned. “Besides, why don’t we get Kaoru up there? He did pretty well today, too.”

Shou waved at the corner of the room. “Can’t. He’s talking to Manager Takeda.”

“Yep. The Fantastic Four have assembled.” Eiji added.

Kaoru was sitting with Kaname, Tomoko, and Futaba, studying the fight footage that the latter two had collected with their cameras. Kaname made a few emphatic gestures; Kaoru frowned, standing up. He took his fighting stance, motioning with his fist. Kaname rolled her eyes; she stood up, brusquely adjusting Kaoru’s shoulders, and then kicking at his heel to narrow his stance. Kaoru, as usual, didn’t look offended. Instead, he eagerly made the adjustments, smiling broadly at Kaname - who seemed to smile back, before catching Ann and Ren watching. She turned away with a slightly irritated ‘hmph’, before returning to look at the video.

An amused smile crossed the blonde’s lips. “Oh.  _ That’s  _ interesting. Are you okay with that, Wildcard?”

“I am.” Ren said, laughing. “Whatever it is. Kaoru told me about the bet he made with Kaname before the tournament. He said he asked if Kaname would go out with him to one of the summer festivals if he won his division.”

“Oh, that’s bold!”

“Go out with him as  _ friends. _ ”

“Less bold.” Ann smiled wryly. “He should be more confident, shouldn’t he? Kaname spends so much time with him. Both for the club and with their friends.”

Ren nodded, thoughtfully. “I think that Kana-chan cares about him more than either of them realizes.”

“What do you mean?”

“You remember Coach Takeda’s wife? Hana-san?”

“Yep. Nice lady. She isn’t Kaname’s biological mother though, is she?” Ann asked. “You always refer to her as ‘Coach Takeda’s wife’ rather than ‘Kana-chan’s mother’.”

“Perceptive.” Ren watched as Kaoru was eventually prodded with the microphone by Shou and Eiji, the two veterans roping him into singing  _ ‘Angel’  _ by Shaggy with another one of the beginners. “Kana-chan’s mother passed away when she was almost too young to remember in a car accident. She was basically raised by the Coach and the trainers and boxers at his gym.”

“That explains a lot.” Ann said, with a quiet sigh.

“Above all, she’s her father’s daughter. She had a crush on me, but she idolizes her dad. He was the featherweight national champion during his boxing career… Kana-chan modeled her boxing style completely after his.” Ren said, smiling nostalgically. “I remember the first time watching one of Coach’s old videos of himself. I saw Kana-chan fight before I watched the video… it was a shock. The way they move is almost identical, though Kana-chan’s faster.”

Ann nodded. “Coach Takeda seems to be pretty gruff, too… I told me that you two ‘converse’ with your fists rather than words?”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Ren said. “Kana-chan’s the same. She prefers to show how she feels, rather than express it.”

Ann recalled last year’s training camp, and how Kaname had treated her then, in her jealousy and fear out of losing Ren.

“I can see that. So how does Kaname show anything about Kaoru? If anything, she’s harder on him than the other boxers.”

“It’s because the style that she inherited from her father is the same one she’s teaching to Kaoru.” Ren replied. “If you asked her, she’d probably tell you that it just makes the most sense for Kaoru’s body type, natural punching ability, and spirit. But today, when I saw Kaoru close the distance and lay into Kobayashi, it was like watching a shadow of Coach Takeda when he was a boxer. Not as polished yet, obviously.”

Ren chuckled as Kaoru handed the microphones to Tomoko and a  _ very _ reluctant Kaname, who was being fearlessly dragged along by her friend.

“When I saw that, it became pretty clear to me that Kaoru is already a special person to Kana-chan.”

>>>

“Hahaha, are you fucking serious?! You’re going to  _ model _ , aniki?!” Shou threw an arm over Ren’s shoulders, laughing.

Eiji mockingly held up his hands, his fingers forming a letterbox square. “I think your left is your better side, aniki.”

They were just outside the karaoke place. The team was parting for the evening, and Ann had accidentally let slip that it was good that Ren hadn’t gotten cut or sustained any swelling after the tournament, as it might have made the photoshoot next week impossible.

Ren sighed, looking at Shou and Eiji. “You know, I seem to remember that you guys had a  _ little _ more respect for me last year.”

“That was before we found out that you’re going to become boxing’s equivalent to David Beckham.” Shou grinned. “All flash, no dash.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Dash aside, he’s a multimillionaire pro athlete married to a dazzling wife.” He flashed a grin at Ann. “Well. I’m almost one third of the way there.”

Ann blushed, shaking her head. “Only you would turn mockery into a chance to flirt.”

“Did it work?”

Ann took hold of Ren’s hand, tugging him towards the train station. She pecked his cheek. “What do  _ you _ think, Wildcard?”

“Make sure that boxing idiot gets some sleep, Ann.” Kaname said, waving. She shooed the other boxers off as well. “Same goes for the rest of you! Lighter practice tomorrow morning, but there’s still a practice!”

Tomoko dragged Futaba off towards an electronics store. “They’re still open, Futaba-chan! Mishima-senpai wanted us to see if the new hard drive is still within the budget for the AV club, remember?”

“Hm? I told the NPC-Prez that I’d just check online--...Ouch! What was that for?”

Tomoko smiled at Kaoru and Kaname; her elbow was digging just a little into Futaba’s ribs. “You guys should head on home. This is  _ super _ boring stuff. Lates!”

Kaname stared at Tomoko suspiciously as she dragged Futaba off into the shop. She looked sharply at Kaoru.

The bespectacled boy raised his hands. “H-hey! I had nothing to do with that.”

Kaname just nodded; she started walking towards the station. As it happened, the two of them both lived just a few blocks apart, as they learned when they first started walking home together back in May.

Kaoru glanced over at Kaname - he started to speak a few times on the trip home, his mouth opening, his eyes lighting up - only to retreat back into the increasingly awkward silence. He silently chastised himself.

_ ‘What the hell was I thinking? ‘Will you go out with me if I win?’ This isn’t an anime. It was the Inter-High, of course I was going to run into an experienced boxer. It’s a miracle that I even went 3-1. If I bring it up again, I’m going to look like a complete moron.’ _

He looked over at her again as they left their subway stop in Setagaya. She was still wearing her Shujin tracksuit, with a large gym bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes were bright and alert; her back straight. She easily carried the weight despite her small frame.

To Kaoru, her contradictions were strangely compelling. Tiny, but ridiculously strong. Fearless and occasionally violent, but absolutely dedicated to the club and her boxers. And quietly sentimental, though she fought  _ so _ hard to hide it.

She was far from the sort of girl he thought he’d be interested in. And he had already blown it before they even started--

“You’re staring, Iwai. That’s dangerous.”

Kaoru tried summoning his inner Amamiya-senpai, effecting a smooth smile. “Why? Are you going to--Aughf!”

He walked headlong into a low-hanging branch of the tree that was situated outside the Shinoda household.

Kaname smirked as Kaoru spat out leaves.

“God, that was lame.” Kaoru muttered.

“Mm. Yep.” Kaname replied. She kicked at the ground with a sneaker, looking down. “You… you’ll have to do a little better than that when we go out.”

“...Sorry?” Kaoru asked, checking his bandage. “Out where?”

Kaname glared at him, her eyes flashing. “To the festival!”

He blinked, looking up with wide eyes. His young heart filled with hope. “...But I didn’t win my division?”

Kaname looked away. If Kaoru was suicidal, he might have imagined that the spitfire was  _ blushing _ . “Those were  _ your _ words, Iwai. I already said you looked good, didn't I?"

“My words? What do you mean--”

Another warning glance and crossed arms silenced him; instead, he just remembered:

_ ‘...If you look good in this tournament, I’ll go out with you. ...As friends.’ _

“...R-right!” Kaoru stammered. He definitely  _ was _ blushing, feeling the heat rush to his face. “I… er, let’s pick one to go to over lunch tomorrow? We can ask Futaba and Tomoko if they want to go, too. And senpai and the rest, too.”

Kaname just nodded. “Good. Go get some sleep, Iwai. Nice fight… ...You really are a Takeda fighter, now.”

“Thanks, Kana-chan-- er, Coach…?”

“Kana-chan. Not at practice.” She said, turning away.

Kaoru walked away. Around a block away from the Shinoda household, he couldn’t contain it anymore - his first tournament, the support of his friends and team, and now this? He jumped into the air, pumping his fist with an exhilarated cry - and was showered by yet more leaves from  _ another _ tree. Cursing, he tried to sweep them off the otherwise immaculate road into a neat pile, bowing apologetically to the elderly woman sitting on her porch. He didn’t notice Kaname hanging around the gate of the Shinoda household, watching him leave.

“Heh. Stupid ox.” Kaname said, shaking her head.

Her soft smile could only be described as affectionate.

>>>

July 22, 20xx

Time passed peacefully for the Phantom Thief family. Ren made good on his word to Elias and Erika Takamaki, spending a weekend working alongside his girlfriend in a photoshoot. Futaba continued to take to high school quite well with the help of her friends; the only trouble she ran into was related to ‘fixing’ the computers in the school’s lab (apparently, the faculty didn’t feel that overclocking  _ everything _ was necessary). Yusuke was actually managing to hold onto his money like it  _ wasn’t _ a greased pig with the help of Haru, who found time in her busy schedule to sit down with the artist to explain the concept of savings and investment.

Mishima continued working on his photography, both on his own and through the school’s audio-visual club (there wasn’t a photography club at Shujin). And, Shiho rediscovered her love for volleyball on a rejuvenated Shujin team, playing as the star player and captain.

As for Ryuji, the bottle blonde did well on his summer exams, with Makoto’s help, and their relationship continued to grow stronger (with Sae’s blessing, after a botched ‘investigation’ by the attorney into what Ryuji Sakamoto’s  _ other _ job was).

“Wow. So  _ that’s _ why she warmed up to you?” Ren asked, sipping at his iced coffee. It was Saturday afternoon; the two boys were already hanging out on the bank of the Arakawa River, reserving a spot to view the fireworks of the Adachi Festival later in the evening. “That’s crazy. I can’t believe she followed you all the way to your volunteer job just to make sure you weren’t seeing a girl on the side.”

Ryuji chuckled. “Heh. Yeah. It turned out to be a good thing, y’know? Sae saw me playing with those kids at the daycare, and it really set her at ease.”

“Why were you hiding it, anyway? It’s not like volunteering at a daycare is a bad thing.”

“Ah, y’know.” Ryuji said, sheepishly. “They make you wear an apron. After Makoto saw me try it on the first time, she didn’t want anyone other than the kids or the people who work there to see me like that. I guess she thought it was embarrassing?”

“She doesn’t seem the type to worry about what kind of clothes you wear. More likely she didn’t want another girl to see you dressed that way.” Ren grinned. “Don’t you get that way when she wears something cute?”

Ryuji blinked. “Oh…! Heh.” He grinned. “Guess she likes the domestic look?”

“That’s a nice way of saying the ‘dad’ look.”

“ _ Dude _ .” Ryuji made a face.

“Heh. Sorry. Anyway, why did you have to vouch for Sae with the cops?”

Ryuji shook his head. “She’s smart. Both her and Makoto really are. Booksmart, anyway. I think she was so worried that I was cheating on Makoto that it never occurred to Sae that wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses near a daycare wasn’t a good idea.”

“That doesn’t sound  _ too _ bad. Maybe if she was a creepy old guy it would have looked bad, or--”

“She also had a long lens camera and dark blue tracksuit on.”

“Oh, man.” Ren facepalmed.

“Yeah, my reaction exactly. It all worked out, though. I stopped them before they could escort her away. So yeah, like I said. She’s pretty okay with me, now.” Ryuji stretched, flopping back onto the picnic blanket. “I’m actually pretty sure she’d even let me take Makoto on a short trip somewhere this summer.”

Ren finished his drink, lying back on the picnic blanket they had set out on the grass. He snorted. “Now you have the unenviable task of convincing the  _ other _ Niijima sister that you should have some time off in the summer to screw around, instead of just staying in Tokyo to study.”

Ryuji groaned. “Yeah. Makoto will probably be harder to convince.”

“It’s pretty nice, though, isn’t it?” Ren said, looking up at the clear sky.

“Well, yeah. It’s July, and we only have a week of school left before summer break.”

“Not that…” Ren paused. He smiled. “Well, that, too. Remember what things were like last year?”

“‘Course. Fighting for our lives, getting suckered into a UFP plot. Me, chasing everything with a skirt… ...Heh. Nice to be worried about normal things again.” Ryuji laughed. “I remember back in April last year, you were pining hopelessly for Ann. Weren’t you ready to bury your feelings, because you didn’t want her to get hurt?”

“Seems like a lifetime ago, Ryuji. I seem to remember you saying something pretty important at the time: ‘You deserve to be happy’.”

Ryuji blinked, turning to look at his friend. “You remember that?”

Ren sat up as his phone buzzed. He nodded. “Of course. I was in a pretty bad place, Ryuji. I know I said thanks at the time… But, well. Thanks again.”

Ryuji nodded. “Any time, RenRen.” He glanced at a pair of pretty girls in yukata, who were starting to approach the two of them curiously. He smiled politely before looking over at Ren, speaking a little louder than usual. “Oh, is that your girlfriend texting you, man? Is she almost here with Mako-chan?”

The two yukata-clad girls exchanged disappointed glances before leaving.

Ren chuckled. Ryuji had grown a little wiser. He turned to the text.

**KT: Renpai, you gotta help me.**

**RA: What’s up?**

**KT: I can’t put on a yukata!**

>>>

Kaname walked quickly to the Sakura household, her yukata folded neatly in her gym bag. She had no idea why she reached out to Ren, of all people. Coach Shinoda’s wife, Sawako, would have been happy to help - but the two of them were taking a short trip away. Tomoko didn’t know how to put one on, either. So of all the people she knew and trusted enough in Tokyo, that left Ren Amamiya.

Kaname glanced at her phone, reading his response again.

**RA: I can’t really help you with that... One sec, I think I know someone who can help.**

**RA: Yeah. Head over to Futaba’s.**

_ ‘Who would have thought that Futaba would know how to put a yukata on? I guess she had more time with her mom than I thought she did…’ _

Kaname knocked on the door.

A beautiful black-haired Japanese girl opened the door, dressed in a fuschia yukata with a pretty floral pattern and white obi. Her hair was up; she grinned at her.

“Hey, Kana-chan!” Tomoko chirped.

“Tomoko! Oh, wow. You look great.” Kaname said, wide-eyed.

Tomoko smiled, taking a slow spin. “I know, right? Must be good, to get that reaction from you of all people. Come in. Futaba’s almost ready.”

Kaname nodded. “Who’s helping Futaba, if you’re out here? Her dad?”

Tomoko snorted. “No. He’s completely out of his depth. You should have seen the look of relief on his face when Takamaki-senpai arrived--”

“Wait.  _ Ann _ ’s helping?” Kaname asked. She groaned inwardly.  _ ‘I should have known.’ _

Although she didn’t really oppose Ann being part of Ren’s life anymore, she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to have the blonde girl be in  _ her _ life.

“Maybe I’ll just skip the yukata. I mean, what’s the point? It’s not like it’s a date or something.”

“Didn’t Kaoru-kun ask you to go to this?” Tomoko smiled slyly.

“ _ As friends _ .”

“Riiiight.”

“And here’s Futaba!” Ann said, appearing in the living room with the orange-haired girl, who was clad in a green yukata with a golden-yellow obi. Her hair was up as well in a simpler twist than Tomoko’s more elaborate style, but it suited her nicely. She motioned to Kaname. “I got a text from Ren, Kaname. Do you have your yukata?”

“Er… ...Yeah.” Kaname mumbled, following Ann to Futaba’s room. She looked at Ann, who was still wearing a blank tank top and a pair of shorts. “Don’t you need to get ready, too? You can just skip mine, if--!!”

Kaname watched as Ann eagerly rifled through her bag, taking out the yukata and accessories.

“Oh, wow. Kaname, this is  _ perfect _ .” Ann held up the yukata. It was a vibrant blue, patterned with light violet butterflies and green leaves; the obi colored in orchid-violet. It would set off the girl’s hair and eyes nicely. “It’s like it was made for you!”

Kaname bit her lip. “...Ah, actually, it was my mother’s. My real mother. On my last trip home, my dad insisted.”

Ann nodded, gently squeezing Kaname’s shoulder. She smiled. “We’ll make sure it looks perfect.”

Ann helped Kaname put it on before seating her in front of the computer screen and webcam that Futaba used as a mirror. “Do you know how you want your hair done?”

Kaname looked at her reflection in the mirror, already taken aback by how the yukata seemed to just  _ fit _ her. Her father always said that she took after her mother, not just in terms of her hair and eyes, but also her stature. It was part of the reason why she didn’t mind being so short - it was something she shared with her mother. She couldn’t remember much of her, other than a sense of warmth, happiness, and security.

Kaname nodded. “I think so. Would it look okay like this?”

She reached over to her bag, taking out an old photograph.

Ann looked at it, nodding earnestly. “Definitely.”

Kaname sat quietly as Ann carefully styled.

“You have lovely hair, Kaname.” Ann said, her fingers carefully working through the violet tresses. “I think this will work really well. That’s a picture of your mother, isn’t it?”

“Mm.” Kaname said. She was surprised that Ann didn’t press for more details, instead just respectfully quiet. She knew there was more to the blonde than looks - there had to be, if Ren loved her the way he did. She found herself wanting to speak more to her one time rival.

“It’s a picture of her when she was a few years older than I am now.” Kaname said. “I don’t remember much about her. Dad says that she would have loved to do this with me.”

“Hana-san never did this with you?” Ann asked, carefully pleating a braid into the half-up, half-down hairstyle. “She seems like she’d love to.”

“...She would, I think. By the time she came along, I wasn’t really interested, though. I grew up around Dad and the boxers. And she fell in love with my Dad. I… ...it doesn’t really have anything to do with me.” Kaname said. She frowned. “She doesn’t treat me badly. I just…”

“...It’s hard to let people in sometimes, isn’t it? Because then you have to be afraid of losing them.”

Kaname closed her eyes as Ann worked and added makeup, not saying anything more. But Ann had hit the nail right on the head. Kaname hadn’t gotten that close to Hana Takeda out of fear of losing her like she had lost her birth mother; she had been overly hostile to Ann last year because  _ just _ when she started to accept Reiko as part of the family she had built around her father and Ren, the girl had turned her back and walked out of their lives.

And this year, she had felt growing worry as she watched Ren move further and further away from her.

So much of her young life had been spent feeling lonely for fear of being alone.

“But… it’s better to have people in my corner, isn’t it?” Kaname said.

“That’s right!” Ann said, smiling. “You can open your eyes now, Kaname.”

Kaname gasped, looking at her image on the computer screen. Ann had perfectly replicated the hairstyle, with the addition of a butterfly-shaped hairpin that the blonde someone just happened to have on hand.

“Thanks for letting me do this with you, Kaname.” Ann smiled.

“...No. Thank  _ you. _ ”

“I think Kaoru-kun’s going to have a heart attack.” Ann said, chuckling.

Kaname blushed - with the makeup Ann had applied, it was a  _ very _ pretty blush. “This… this isn’t for him!”

“Alright, alright.” Ann said, raising her hands. “Can you help me put on mine?”

Kaname frowned. “I’ll get Tomoko, or Futaba--”

“No. I’d rather it be you, Kaname.” Ann said, starting to change. “You know, when we met last year, I wanted to get to know you? Because you’re a special person to Ren.”

Kaname frowned. “Not really. Not anymore.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Ann said, laughing. “He cares a lot about you, you know? When that stuff with Yuka Sakaki was going on, he almost stormed into your class to put a stop to it. He loves you; you’re like a sister to him. I’d like it if you could be like a sister to me too, you know?”

For the first time, Kaname thought that might not be so bad.

Kaname scoffed as she carefully helped Ann put her yukata on.

“Don’t let your guard down so easily,  _ onee-san _ . I still might steal him away. He’s still my ideal man, you know?” Kaname said, trying to summon up enough hostility to make that sound even a little threatening. But, Kaname found that she almost liked the sound of ‘onee-san’.

Ann glanced back at Kaname, a little smile on her pink lips. “And you know another meaning for ‘ideal’ is ‘unattainable’, right?”

“...Heh. Right.”

>>>

The evening unfolded quite a bit better than last year. For one, they weren’t rained out. The entire group of them - the eight former Phantom Thieves, Shiho, Mishima, Tomoko, Kaoru, and Kaname were actually able to get together under a clear sky. For a time, they wandered the festival grounds together, taking it in turns to keep their spot on the riverbank reserved - but the group was too large to really stick together in the rapidly growing crowd.

It started, of course, with the couples.

“Hey, Makoto. It looks like that bridge over there has a few open spots. Wanna go watch the fireworks from over there, instead?”

Makoto absently adjusted the yellow obi over her white/floral yukata. “Hm? Why? We already have a good spot on the bank.”

He spoke quieter, in a voice that only she could hear. “Hm? Well, I thought it would be a better view from there,  _ senpai _ …”

Makoto’s eyes widened; her face flushed. She regained her composure quickly, making a show of eyeing the bridge critically. “...You know, I think you’re right. Take care, everyone. Make sure you all get home safely.”

And then of course, Ren and Ann just vanished - that wasn’t a surprise to anyone. Not with the way Ann looked, her hair in a similar style to last summer, but with an extra year of training and modeling experience under her belt, she drew the eye of every boy around her. And Ren actually had a yukata this year, a simple indigo one that drew the eye of every girl around  _ him _ .

And finally, Kaoru and Kaname just couldn’t seem to find Yusuke, Haru, Futaba, Tomoko, or Mishima in the crowd.

_ ‘Accidentally on purpose, probably…’ _ Kaoru groused. He felt terribly underdressed in his polo shirt and shorts, especially walking around beside Kaname. When he had first laid eyes on her this evening, she nearly socked him in the stomach for staring too long - and even now, whenever he glanced in her direction, his heart seemed to skip a beat.

They walked in silence until they found a place to stand on the paved pathway that lined the river, leaning on their elbows against the rail.

“You keep staring.” Kaname muttered.

It wasn’t a trick of the light this time. She really was blushing.

“Ah… Sorry, Kana-chan. I’m just not used to seeing you in a yukata.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” She frowned. “I don’t like how I can’t move my legs as easily. And if I had to throw a punch--”

Despite his anxiety, Kaoru laughed. “Saying something like that... That’s… that’s so  _ you _ .”

Reflexively, Kaname glared at Kaoru defensively. The expression quickly softened, at seeing his smile. “...And that’s fine with you?”

“Mm.” Kaoru nodded. They fell silent again, watching in rapt fascination as the fireworks started. The first-year boxer glanced at Kaname again.

_ ‘ **As friends**. What kind of idiot am I?’ _

He would have groaned and buried his face in his hands, if it wouldn’t have made things even more awkward. Kaoru did go to Ren for advice before today, but it hadn’t been particularly instructive.

_ ‘How did I confess to Ann? Uh… That’s complicated. I didn’t really confess. We just kissed. Well, she kissed me first.’ _

Kaoru knew that it was too much to hope for that kind of initiative.

_ ‘Oh, uh… Still didn’t really ‘confess’ per se, after that. Are you sure you want to hear this? Really? Alright. Then, I kissed her.’ _

Kaoru shook his head slightly. At being asked out on a date, Kaname had started smacking him. If he tried kissing her, he’d get knocked into next Sunday.

_ ‘...Uh, we started… ...dating, later. And then we went out on a date a day or two after that, if you get my drift.’ _

Kaoru shivered. More like next next  _ next _ Sunday.

The fireworks continued to light the night sky to cheers and gasps from the crowd. Even Kaname seemed enraptured, gazing up at the colorful lights. Her hand was almost touching his as they each leaned on the rail. He slid his hand a little closer to hers. Just a little further…

They were jostled from behind; it really was crowded.

_ ‘Forget it. This is stupid, I--’ _

“Hey! Iwai! That guy took your wallet!” Kaname yelled, suddenly. “Stop, thief! Get back here, dirtbag!”

Apparently, she  _ could _ move in a yukata.

>>>

A short distance away, further from the crowds, Kaname shoved the would-be pickpocket into the arms of a waiting police officer.

Kaoru sighed.  _ ‘Mood’s ruined. I should forget it. We’re just friends, and good ones, at that. I don’t want to ruin that. I’m not sure she’s completely over Amamiya-senpai, anyway. What am I thinking? I’m too chicken, anyway.’ _

She turned back, beaming proudly at Kaoru. She held out his wallet. Some of her hair was askew from the chase; there was a smudge of dirt on her cheek now from the ensuing struggle and a scratch on the back of her knuckles from where she had clobbered the thief before dropping him with a perfect  _ harai goshi _ throw. The light of the last fireworks just caught her pretty face, slightly dirtied, with that crooked smile.

“Aren’t you going to take your wallet, Iwai? Come on--”

“I like you. Will you go out with me?”

>>>

July 29, 20xx

It was the last day of school before summer break. Most of the students made their way to Shujin with a spring in their step, knowing that after just a day of classes, they’d be free to embark on their summer plans. For the third year students, it was even more exciting - it was their last summer as high school students. Many of them had trips planned; others intended to get ahead of studying for entrance examinations. Either way, there was a sense of anticipation and moving forward, intermingled with bittersweet nostalgia.

And yet, Ren Amamiya dragged his feet as he walked into the train station at Yongen - even more than April of last year, when he was the ‘criminal transfer student’ dreading the rumors and prejudice waiting for him at school. Today was going to be a troublesome day - it was the day where August’s edition of  _ Vague _ was going to hit the stands, the one that had the photoshoot he agreed to.

Even after the hangover had worn off, he could see that it was a good idea. It would further ingratiate himself with Ann’s parents, hopefully smoothing out any remaining reservations about him that her father had. Not to mention, it was more exposure for Ann, who was finding increasingly more success as a model.

But, Ren didn’t really like being in the spotlight for something like this. He was used to being in the public eye for boxing, not for standing around and trying to look pretty. He shook his head at the memory of the photographer, who looked incredibly unimpressed at having to work with an amateur.

_ ‘Look, Amamiya-kun. It’s easy. Just smile without smiling! And be relaxed, natural. Wait. Not THAT relaxed. Stiffen your left shoulder around thirty percent. And your right leg needs to be less…  _ **_leggy_ ** _.’ _

Somehow, he muddled through. With Ann’s reassurance and translation of the vague directions. She was truly in her element - outside of work, his girlfriend was energetic, flirty, sweet… at work, all of that energy was completely focused. For a few of the shots, she had stood with him or draped herself over him with such a professional ease that  _ he _ had been the one to blush.

_ ‘First world problems.’  _ Ren reminded himself, smiling.  _ ‘This time last year, we were trying to save Futaba and Medjed was breathing down our necks…’ _

“Hey, nii-chan. Earth to Ren-nii?” The aforementioned orange-haired gremlin lightly poked at Ren’s arm. “The train’s here.”

“Oh. Sorry, Gremlin.” Ren stepped onboard.

Futaba grinned. “Ehehe. You were spacing pretty hard there. Worried about the pictures, right? Don’t worry. They look great, I don’t think you’re holding Ann back at all.”

“Oh, thanks. That’s a relief-- Wait. How the hell have you seen them already?”

“Please.” Futaba replied.

Ren shook his head, laughing. Of course, despite no longer being responsible for the Phantom Thieves’ intel and cybersleuthing, Futaba kept up. For fun. “Right. Stupid question.”

They stepped off the train at Aoyama; Futaba promptly led Ren over to a magazine stand, taking great pleasure in talking to the vendor as she picked up an issue of  _ Vague _ . As Ren watched her chat and point at him, then his pictures in the magazine article, the boxer almost wished that she was her  _ hikikomori  _ self again. At least back then, she didn’t have a Shiho-like grin as she embarrassed the crap out of him.

He sighed, leaning over to look at the pictures.

The theme of the shoot had been ‘Vegas fight-night’. In the first few pictures, Ren was featured in athletic gear from a new clothing line; Ann by contrast wore several glitzy, slinky gowns from another line, suitable for spectating from ringside or gambling on the casino floor. The final shot was Ren, shirtless, boxing gloves and shorts on with Ann draped over him in a form-fitting red dress. His expression was serious and predatory; Ann was haughty and sultry, summoning her inner Celestine.

In the back half of the shoot, their roles were reversed - Ren in suits and tuxedos, Ann in the athletic gear. The final shots were pure ‘cheesecake’. The first had both of them in the athletic gear, facing each other with little smiles. Ren had his hands on her waist as she had him trapped, holding the towel draped over his neck by either end. The second one had them each in the evening wear. And the third was brilliantly done - a remake of one of the photos from Elias and Erin’s album. Ren stood in the ring, leaning down over the ropes as he grinned at Ann. She was looking back up, laughing, wearing a vintage letter jacket, skirt, and blouse as she sat on the apron below him. The original photo of Elias and Erika was inset in the corner.

“Oh, hey. Isn’t that Amamiya-senpai?... Oh my  _ God _ , he’s on the cover with Takamaki-senpai!”

“No way. We have to get him to sign a copy… And Takamaki-senpai, too…!”

Yes, this was going to make it just a little harder for Ren to just go about his business.

“Gremlin, let’s go.” Ren said, prodding Futaba.

“Just a sec. One copy, please!” Futaba said. She shoved them into Ren’s hands, along with a silver permanent marker. “Autograph, please!”

“...Seriously?”

“Yep!”

Ren sighed again. He motioned at the vendor. “Another copy then, please.”

He signed each copy. Truthfully, the aspiring athlete had practiced his signature for the eventuality that someone would actually  _ want _ his autograph, not that he’d ever admit it.

“So why did you buy a second copy?” Futaba asked, as they walked away from the magazine stand, narrowly avoiding the crowd of Shujin students who started browsing and purchasing while shooting looks at Ren’s retreating back. She held out her hand for her copy. Ren shook his head, holding onto the magazines.

“One second. You’ll see.” Ren said. He then immediately ‘oofed’ as Ann careened into his side, hugging his arm.

“Hey, Wildcard.”

“Hey, Songbird. Here.” Ren gave her the magazine, with his signature across his cover. “First autograph I’ve ever signed goes to you.”

“...Oh!” Ann smiled, her cheeks pink as she hugged his arm again.

Futaba made a gagging sound, before thanking Ren for  _ her _ copy.

Ann flipped through the magazine, giggling. “Oh, you’re so  _ pretty  _ in these. I wonder how many of the people in your fan club are going to pass out when they get to the picture of you without a shirt on.”

Ren’s rolled his eyes, but his face felt hot. “You’d think this would bother you more.”

Ann shrugged. “I know where your heart is. And also, if any of them get too close, Shiho will help me hide the bodies.”

“Ah, right-- Wait, what?”

They reached Shujin’s gate.

“Oh my God! Takamaki-senpai, Amamiya-senpai!” An excited gaggle of first and second year students ran up to the two, holding up a few copies. They mostly gushed over the dresses and clothes Ann wore, from both the formal and fitness lines. Ren just smiled politely, happy to fade into the background. He watched as she signed copies with a gold marker, like a movie star - big and bold, with cute hearts.

One girl looked up, meeting Ren’s eyes. “Oh! And Amamiya-senpai, can you sign right here? I was already a big fan from your boxing, but these pictures are  _ way _ better than a  _ shikishi  _ board. If Takamaki-senpai is okay with it, of course.”

“Oh, of  _ course _ I’m okay with it!” Ann said, with a winning smile. “Ren just  _ loves _ signing things for  _ all _ of his fans.”

Ren shot Ann a look, hoping his message would reach her.  _ ‘You’re going to pay for this.’ _

Ann’s smile turned crooked for a moment; her eyes flashed mischievously as she licked her lips.  _ ‘Do you  _ **_promise_ ** _?’ _

Ren smiled politely, signing. The signature he had practiced included his name and ring name, ‘Wildcard’, with the symbol for the ace of spades.

The underclassman gasped, delighted. “Oh, cool! Hey guys, look at this! It’s like a baseball player’s!”

“You have to sign  _ mine _ too, then…”

Soon, he and Ann had a queue. Shiho had appeared out of nowhere, wearing dark sunglasses as she managed the line - Ren just managed to stop her from collecting fees.

“Hey! Shouldn’t all of you be getting to class?! And what are you doing, Suzui-san?!” Kawakami had come out to see what the fuss was about. She crossed her arms, holding her leather portfolio in her hand. “Takamaki-san and Amamiya-kun are writing entrance exams this year! You shouldn’t bother them!”

The students dispersed, bowing politely and apologizing to Kawakami.

Ren looked at his homeroom teacher gratefully. “Thanks, Kawakami-sensei.”

She smiled. “No problem, Amamiya-kun. Though, if you’re really grateful…” She produced a copy of  _ Vague _ , taken out of her portfolio. She beamed at the two students.

“You can both sign on the cover. Can you make it out to ‘Sadayo-chan’, please~?"

>>>

Ren stood up at the end of the day, sliding the last of his books into his bag. He looked over at Ann, smiling. “Hey. Ready to go?”

“Yep. Let’s go find everyone else so we can get something sweet to celebrate the start of the break.”

“Heh. Ba _ keiki _ mono roars in hunger--oof!” Ren pretended to be hurt as Ann lightly punched him in the stomach.

“I warned you, silly boy.” Ann kissed his cheek, smirking. “Did you clean out your locker yet?”

Ren shook his head; he headed in the direction of the shoe lockers as Ann linked her arm through his. “So you must be excited. You and your parents leave for Paris in a few days, right Songbird?”

Ann sighed. “I actually got a text from Daddy during our last class. They had to cancel the trip - something’s come up in Shanghai. I thought about going with them, but they’re going to be working the entire time. They lost a venue for a show, so they have to scramble.”

“That sucks. Sorry.” Ren said. “I’m still heading back to Kamakura tomorrow for the Takeda training camp… Then I’m going to stick around for a couple weeks to help my parents out. It’s going to be busy at the inn.”

Ann sighed. “Two weeks… Well. I guess I’ll just…”

“‘ _Go with you, then_ ’. That’s what you were going to say, right?” Ren asked, casually.

Ann shook her head. “I'd love to, but you can’t spring that on your parents, Wildcard. It’s tourist season, and they’re probably booked full.”

“Well, actually…  _ Someone _ didn’t have the heart to tell my mom that you weren’t coming. So there’s already a room ready for you to visit…” Ren said, looking away innocently.

“You chicken!”

“Buck-buck-aw.” Ren replied, pantomiming with his free arm. “You know how much she loves you.”

“Obviously. Who doesn’t?” Ann replied, winking. They reached the lockers. “I’ll pack up tonight, then. I don’t think my parents will have a problem with it.”

“Damnit!” Ren exclaimed. As he opened his locker, multiple envelopes tumbled out, all over his feet. It was a massacre of pastel colors, cute stickers, and scented paper. “You’d think they’d figure out that I’m in a committed relationship with the prettiest girl in school. And this doesn’t even count the ones that approached me in person today.”

“Heh. Summertime confessions. It’s a yearly thing. You shouldn’t just toss them right here, though. You’ll hurt someone’s feelings--Crap!”

Even more letters piled out of Ann’s locker.

Ann sighed, picking one up between her thumb and forefinger. “Ugh. This one smells like it’s been soaked in that Axe body spray crap.”

Ren looked at her flatly. “You shouldn’t just toss that here. You’ll hurt someone’s feelings.”

Ann rolled her eyes. She placed the envelope in a plastic bag before putting it in her school bag.

“Hm. Do I need to ‘talk’ to some people, Renpai?” Kaname asked, looking disdainfully at the pile of letters.

Ren crouched, collecting the envelopes. “No, it’s fine, Kana-chan. It’s as Ann says. It’s just people getting this off their chests. It’s not like they think anything will come of it. It’s just that some people need to have their feelings heard before they can move on. Well known shoujo-trope.”

Ann and Kaname exchanged glances, waiting.

Ren rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to claim I read it in Kana-chan’s manga when she’s literally standing right here. And we did the big, super-surprising reveal during spring break, remember? Where I finally revealed that the manga was mine all along and you were all incredibly shocked.”

Ann smiled. “Well, we kinda knew--”

“You were SO surprised. Like, Skywalker's parentage or Dumbledore's death level surprised.” Ren said, nodding sagely. He looked up. “Oh, hey Kaoru. All packed up for the camp?”

Kaoru nodded. “Just about. Is Kana-chan going to be leading it, or her dad?”

“Why don’t you ask… her?” Ren blinked, looking at the empty space that Kaname had been occupying up until now.

Kaoru sighed. “She’s been avoiding me, outside of boxing.”

“Why?”

“I… sort of confessed to her. The night of the fireworks festival.”

“Really? What happened?” Ann asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

Kaoru rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Er… She took down a pickpocket while wearing her yukata, shoved the guy over to the police, and then when she was handing me my wallet back, I kinda just… ...blurted it out.”

The three of them stood in awkward silence as they imagined/remembered the incident.

Ren started to snicker. Ann smacked his arm.

“Ren!”

Ren shook his head, laughing. “I’m sorry. Sorry. It just occurred to me that you did that in the best way possible, Kaoru. You just charged in like you were going for an in-fight. What did she say, after?”

“She said she’d think about it.” Kaoru mumbled. “Er… So I’m going to meet her dad at this camp, aren’t I?”

“...Yes. Yes you are.” Ren said, shaking his head with a grin. “It’s going to be an interesting summer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karaoke song, Champion: It's by Shinji Tanimura. It's the song that the guys in Hajime no Ippo constantly sing at karaoke, and it's a real song. Literally about a boxer.  
> “I like you. Will you go out with me?”: The classic "Suki desu. Tsukiatte kudasai."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer begins with the Shujin Boxing team's gasshuku. Will Kaname finish 'thinking about it'? Will Ren and Ann successfully keep their hands off each other (yeah, right). This and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gasshuku: Training camp, usually for sports clubs/teams. You wake up, you train. Breakfast. You train. Lunch. You train. Dinner. You train. Actually a lot more fun than it sounds like, at least it was for me :)  
> nakai: Staff/attendant working at a traditional ryokan.  
> TBG: Takeda Boxing Gym  
> Mitts/Hitting mitts: Gloves with thick pads sewn onto them, meant for receiving punches  
> Sunday punch: Finishing blow/favored heavy hit from a boxer  
> fuku: Girl's uniform  
> gakuran: Boy's uniform, the one that looks vaguely tunic-ish rather than the western blazer
> 
> This is one of two updates today, the back half is being edited right now. It's almost Shuann Week 2020! Please keep an eye out! Lots of great stuff by many of the authors that got me writing and posting stuff, and I've got a few things, too - two fics from this AU, and one new AU.

May 3, 20xx(-3)

It was Saturday after school. As usual, afternoon training was held at Takeda Boxing Gym under the watchful eye of Shinji Takeda, the trainers who worked under him, and of course, Kaname Takeda. Kaname was no longer actively competing in boxing, not after being disqualified in her last tournament. She felt that in terms of competitive sport, she was a better fit for the rules of judo rather than boxing anyways. After all, submission holds and throws weren’t allowed in boxing. Still, though, there were reasons to remain involved in the ‘sweet science’. First off, she had inherited her father’s ability to get the most out of her fighter. Secondly, she had an eye for talent in boxing. And thirdly (and most importantly) she had an eye for one boxer in particular.

Her nimble hands taped up one of the pro boxer’s ankles by rote memory, but her eyes were on Ren. The third year middle school student was working with her father, and his grin was  _ sparkling _ as he hit the mitts.

“Thanks, Kana-chan.” The pro said.

Kaname just nodded vaguely, watching her favorite boxer. And, she was sure, her eventual boyfriend. This was going to be the year. They were finally in the same school together, seeing each other every day. She always walked there with him, walked home with him. Even if he avoided the subject of dating (and occasionally avoided  _ her _ ), he always had a smile for her and always had time for her when she caught up to him (which she always did).

Practice ended. Kaname changed in a hurry - she knew that Ren was probably already out the door and halfway home; he was awfully cute, always acting coy like that. She bounded out of the women’s change room in her white and navy blue sailor  _ fuku _ . She was startled by Ren who was waiting for her in the empty boxing gym, already dressed in his black  _ gakuran _ . Her heart raced. For a brief moment, a feeling of hope swelled in her chest. This could be it - this could finally be the confession, the admission of  _ mutual _ love.

The feeling vanished as she saw the unusual expression on his face. It was a gentle, worried smile.

_ ‘...No. Oh, no.’ _

“Hey, Kana-chan. We should talk…” Ren said. “The roof?”

Numbly, she nodded. She followed him up the stairs to the roof of the gym, a flat courtyard-like surface enclosed by an iron fence. This wasn’t what she wanted. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. Through the past couple of years, despite her  _ slightly _ aggressive pursuit, he had never outright rejected her. Never had ‘the talk’. She could barely hear what he was saying.

“...’s amazing to think we’ve known each other for so long, right? I wouldn’t be half the boxer I am now if it weren’t for you…”

If it weren’t for that smile - the smile she never wanted to see - she might have taken that as a confession. Not now. Not like this.

“...same school, now. It’s not fair to you for us to keep doing this. I care about you too much, and…”

Kaname closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“...eally mean to say is, I’m sorr--”

Kaname beamed at Ren. “Ne, Renpai. It’s fine. Really, it is. I mean, it was pretty serious to start, but now, we’re both getting older, right? It’s fine. No hard feelings.”

Ren blinked. “...Right. Good.”

Kaname nodded. “Can I still come over for dinner? Tonight’s mapo tofu at your place, right?”

Ren slowly stood, his face now reflecting relief. “That’s right. Kaa-chan would love to have you, as usual. She’d think something’s wrong if you didn’t show up.”

“Then I’d better show up! But why don’t you go ahead? I forgot something in the change room.” Kaname said, smiling.

Ren nodded. “See you soon then, Kana-chan. Thanks.”

Kaname opened the rooftop door for Ren, shutting it behind him. She watched as he left the front door of the gym on the street below, waving at him until he was out of sight around the corner.

Slowly, she sank to her knees, leaning against the iron fence.

“...Heh.” She said, still smiling. Trying to smile. At least she hadn’t heard him say the words.

_ ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t love you like that.’ _

She hadn’t heard them, so it shouldn’t hurt. They were still on good terms. This way, she could still be close to him. She could still have his smile, still feel like she had a place to belong.

_ ‘I’m sorry. Thank you for your feelings, but…’ _

Her smile faded.

_ ‘I’m sorry. We’ll never be more than friends.’ _

She started to sob. Painfully, deeply, from her very core. She cried for her unrequited love; she cried for the chance she never got. And, she cried for her own cowardice.

If it hurt this much right now, then how much would it hurt to actually hear them?

It was better to wait. It was better to wait forever.

>>>

July 30, 20xx

Kaname woke up to the chirping birdsong that was her phone’s alarm clock, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. It was still dark outside; she glanced at the time. 0400.

_ ‘Haven’t even thought about that in a while, let alone dreamed about it.’ _

Kaname shook her head. It was the past. It didn’t matter. Now she had… Now she had  _ what _ , exactly?

_ ‘I like you. Will you go out with me?’ _

_ ‘I… ...What?! Are you serious? Iwai… ...I’ll… I’ll think about it.’ _

What did it even mean to ‘think about it’? What was there to think about? She either liked him that way, or she didn’t. Kaname got out of bed to get ready for the day. She stared at herself in the mirror, hating herself for a moment in the same way that she hated the heroines of so many of the manga that Ren loved. She tried reading them a few times, in an effort to understand what sort of things the boy she loved seemed to like. But, she found the heroines indecisive, whiny, and altogether annoying.

You either liked someone or you didn’t.

But it wasn’t so simple with Iwai. Not like it was with Ren. She knew he’d never see her in a romantic way; knew that she’d never pry him away from Ann. But didn’t she still love him? It would be unfair to Iwai if she did. And it would be bad to be unfair to Iwai, because she cared about him. As a boxer. As a friend. As a...

...So that meant she liked Iwai.

But that meant letting go of her feelings for Ren. She didn’t want that, either. But that was unfair to Iwai, and she didn’t want to be unfair to him because--

Kaname groaned, thunking her forehead against the mirror. She had been going in circles ever since Iwai had confessed. It was the main reason she had been avoiding him outside of practice; she knew he was waiting for an answer. But now, even Kamakura wouldn’t be a refuge. For the first few days of the summer break, the Shujin boxing team was going to be following her and Ren to their hometown for a  _ gasshuku _ … They’d be living in close quarters with each other at the Takeda Boxing Gym for four days.

She sighed, going back to her room and getting dressed. She had to focus. Not only was the team going to be depending on her, but her father was going to be there as well, evaluating how she had done as a trainer without his supervision. She needed to work with each of her fighters closely.

There was no avoiding Iwai, now. She packed a few last-minute items, including the yukata she had worn. It needed to be cleaned. Her hand stopped, hovering over the colorful outfit that Ann had helped her put on.

There was no avoiding Iwai unless she took certain measures.

>>>

Ann yawned, stretching as she and Ren stepped out of their cab in front of the Amamiya ryokan. It was already looking to be a balmy day despite the fact that it was still the morning. Both she and Ren were dressed appropriately - Ann, in the new summer clothes that had so effectively snatched Ren’s attention, and Ren, in a black polo shirt, jeans that actually fit, and an actual  _ new  _ pair of Converse sneakers. She had made full use of the ‘coupon’ Ren had given her for their one-year anniversary, putting her beau into a number of new outfits.

“We’re finally here!” Ann cheered, clasping Ren’s hand. She yawned again. “A bit early, though.”

“Sorry.” Ren replied, smiling. “You could have come later, Songbird. I’m going to be at the training camp for most of the first week, anyway.”

Ann shook her head. “It’s fine, Wildcard. I love your parents, remember? And it’s more time for me to relax, anyhow. Shouldn’t you head over there soon? I thought everyone else was going there directly.”

“Not until the evening, actually. Training doesn’t start until tomorrow morning... I’ll head over later in the morning to help Kana-chan set up, though.” Ren said, collecting their luggage. “Come on.”

They walked inside, passing through the entry hall to pause at the reception desk. Inoue perked up. She gasped, smiling widely as she stood up, coming around the desk to hug both Ren and Ann.

“Ren! Ann-chan! I’m so happy you’re here!”

“ _ Tadaima _ , Kaa-chan.” Ren smiled, hugging back.

“ _ Okaerinasai,  _ Ren.”

“Hi, Kaa-chan!” Ann chirped. “Where’s Tou-san?”

“Oh, he’s just making breakfast.” Inoue said. “Come, come. Let me show you to your room, Ann-chan.”

Ren and Ann followed Inoue into the inn; the Amamiya matriarch led them into the seaward wing of the property, past a number of rooms. The staff was already busy at work, but paused to greet Ren and Ann with friendly smiles.

“It’s a lot busier than the last time I was here, Kaa-chan.” Ann said.

“Mmhm! It’s the main tourist season in Kamakura right now, with the beaches and festivals.” Inoue said, nodding. “And word’s gotten out that we’ve reopened and renovated. Ken-san’s been working hard on the website.”

“Heh. Hard to imagine oya-ji doing much on a computer.” Ren said. “Though, Futaba did show him a few things the last time she was here.”

“Your father has been pretty enthusiastic about it.” Inoue nodded. She led the two of them down a covered walkway to a little detached building on the property, facing the ocean. Ann blinked. It was a little small to be another wing of the inn, unless the rooms were tiny. She would have understood - it  _ was _ tourist season after all, and the Amamiya family had some financial hardships last year, thanks to Shido. She turned to look at Ren. He had a little smile of anticipation on his face.

“...Wildcard? What’s so--...Oh my  _ God _ .” Ann covered her gasp with both hands.

The building was too small to be another wing of the inn, but it was just right to house a large, luxurious private suite. Complete with its own stone bath, fed with water from the nearby hot springs, and an ocean view.

“Kaa-chan, this is  _ way _ too much! You can’t give me this during peak season!”

Inoue waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t be silly, dear. When your parents called to thank us for having you stay with us, I promised I’d take good care of you, and I meant it. Even though it was  _ supposedly _ last minute.”

“Aheh. Can’t imagine  _ why _ they thought it was last minute.” Ren said, looking up at the ceiling innocently.

Inoue smiled, reaching up to fondly pat Ren’s head. “I suppose I should consider it a good thing that you were so afraid of disappointing me that you didn’t want to tell me that Ann-chan was supposed to be traveling with her parents. But, all’s well that ends well.”

She looked at Ann. “Besides, this is a new suite. It’s like you’re testing it out for us! Do you want to get settled in first, dear? Or breakfast? Ken-san should be done by now.”

“Oh! In that case, we shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

They headed back to the family quarters. Several of the guests were up and about by now, getting started on their days. Ann drew the eyes of several of them; it wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to, with her looks and hair color. One of them, a kindly-looking Japanese woman, stopped them just before they entered the family quarters.

“Ah…! You’re Takamaki-san, aren’t you?” She smiled, bowing politely to Ann. “My name is Chieko Fukui.”

“Mmhm! This is one of our guests, Ann-chan. ” Inoue said. “And this is my son, Ren.”

“How handsome. And how pretty! I can’t wait to see how you look in a kimono, Takamaki-san. I’ll bet it’s even more gorgeous in person.”

Ann smiled. “Thank you, Fukui-san. It was nice meeting you.”

Ren bowed politely as well. As they walked into the family quarters, Ann looked over at Ren.

“That was a little weird. I’m used to people recognizing me from photoshoots, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never had any shots of me in a kimono published anywhere. She seems nice enough, though.”

Ren nodded, frowning with mild concern. “It is a bit odd. I think the only time I’ve seen you in a kimono was the last time you were here, actually. And I’m pretty sure that Fukui-san wasn’t staying here at the time…”

“Oh, hey, kid!” Kenji grinned, waving from the kitchen. “Just in time!”

“Hey, oya-ji. Still pretty spry for an old guy, eh?”

“Enough to suplex you through the table.”

“I’ve got a chopping right with your name on it, first.”

Inoue started to casually rearrange the wooden naginata that was propped up in the broom closet. Both the Amamiya men left their greeting at a handshake and hug, with sheepish grins. The four sat down to catch up over breakfast, complete with Leblanc coffee made by Ren. Ren poured out four cups - he paused, blinking at the fifth place setting. 

“Are we expecting someone else, Kaa-chan?”

“Oh. She didn’t tell you?”

“Hey, Renpai.” Kaname said, stepping out of the hallway that led to the family’s bedrooms. She yawned. “Glad you’re here, finally.”

“Hey, Kana-chan--...?!”

“Seriously, Kaname?! I can’t believe you’re still stalking Ren like this. I thought you were--...” She trailed off as Kaname gave the blonde a quick look that Ann would have described as  _ pleading _ and  _ apologetic _ , if it weren’t for the fact that it was coming from a girl who was known to be the exact opposite of both of those words.

“I caught an earlier train.” Kaname shrugged. “I wanted to make sure the gym was ready, and I also wanted to come by to greet Ren’s parents.”

Kaname sat down to breakfast, beside Ann.

Ren looked at Kaname. “Everything’s alright, then?”

“Mmmhm! Though, I’m starting to wish the team had a second manager. Ten boxers is a lot, even if only three of them are veterans. Though, Iwai’s probably ready to compete seriously, too.” Kaname sighed. “It’s a lot of work for one person.”

Ren frowned. “It’s not like you to complain--”

“I’ll help!” Ann said, quickly catching on. She glanced at Kaname, feeling the girl squeeze her knee under the table in gratitude. “We’re starting right after breakfast, right?”

_ ‘Probably something about Kaoru-kun…’  _ Ann thought.  _ ‘I know she has my number, but she was probably worried that Ren might see the text, or that Futaba might…’ _

“Mmhm. We can take our time, though. The rest of the team won’t get here until the evening.”

Kenji frowned. “...The training only runs for four days, right? Ann-chan’s going to be around after that?”

Ren nodded. “Yeah. Why are you so worried about that, oya-ji? I mean, it’s not like she’s an employee--...”

_ ‘Ken-san’s been working hard on the website.’ _

_ ‘I can’t wait to see how you look in a kimono, Takamaki-san. I’ll bet it’s even more gorgeous in person.’ _

“...Oh, you old, conniving, cheap  _ bastard _ .” Ren whipped out his phone.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Kenji said, sounding quite anxious.

“Finding the website.”

“Oh! Uh, don’t. It’s a work in progress. I mean really, a little embarrassing. The design’s not great yet. I mean, it’s not even uploaded yet. I mean--...”

Ren’s expression darkened. He turned his phone around, his hand shaking from how tightly he gripped it.

Kaname, Ann, and Inoue peered at the Amamiya ryokan’s website while Kenji broke into a cold sweat. The design was actually pretty good. Sleek, elegant, modern. Just like the inn itself. The main page was easy to navigate and to the point, and included a ‘bulletin board’ type section with key events and news relating to the inn and the surrounding area.

Including the following announcement:

_ ‘For a two week engagement, the Amamiya Ryokan will be graced by a  _ **_special guest_ ** _ nakai,  _ **_world famous model Ann Takamaki!_ ** _ Come stay with us, and meet a celebrity!’ _

Displayed prominently under the message was a photograph of Ann from her Ren’s visit during Golden Week, where she had helped Inoue serve a few guests while wearing a traditional kimono.

“Uh… ...So, Ann-chan, if you’d be willing to help out a little, I can give you a discount on your stay with us--”

Ren dropped his phone on the table, slowly standing up. He cracked his knuckles.

“I’m going to give you a head start, old man.”

“Inoue-chan? Little help?”

Inoue was already fishing her naginata out of the broom closet.

“Hm? Oh, Ken-san. I’d be happy to. Help  _ Ren _ , that is.”

>>>

July 31, 20xx

“Great job, Kaoru-kun! Another one-two, just like that!” Ann cheered, holding hitting mitts in the Takeda Boxing Gym. It was nearly the end of the training camp’s first day - the evening session after dinner. Ann and Kaname were running the boxers through combinations on hitting mitts.

Kaname watched her with an approving smile as she tugged on her own mitts. Ann had filled in admirably as a second trainer/manager. Back in April, when they were still verbally sparring over Ren, the blonde model told Kaname that she was his most frequent training partner. It was clear that the girl wasn’t just making a baseless boast. Ann was both fit  _ and _ strong.

In the morning, Ann led five of the ten boxers (including Kaoru) on a run down the beach; Kaname led the other half (including Ren) on a run in the opposite direction. In the past, the violet-haired girl might have used this as a chance to hog Ren for herself, or a chance to toy with Ann, make her jealous. But Ann was here and sacrificing her precious holiday time at Kaname’s behest. While they were getting the gym ready yesterday, Kaname managed to get Ann alone, away from Ren.

_ ‘...Hey, Ann. Thanks for coming. It really is a lot of work for one person. And… ...Well, I…’ _

Ann had smiled, patting her hand.  _ ‘It’s Kaoru-kun, isn’t it? You know you don’t have anything to worry about. He’s a good guy. He’ll be patient. And he--’ _

_ ‘I know. I know. I just… I don’t know how I feel about him, and I have to focus on the camp. Can you just… ...help me avoid him? Just for the training camp? I’m still trying to figure things out.’ _

_ ‘...Alright, Kaname. If you’re sure.’ _

“Thanks, Takamaki-senpai!” Kaoru replied, as he finished up his turn. She was impressive for not being a boxer, really. Kaoru wasn’t a slouch in terms of hitting power, but Ann had been able to catch each of the combinations that Kaname had set out for them to practice. Ann took a break as the boxers switched, placing her mitt-covered hands on her hips and rolling her shoulders to loosen them up. Kaname refrained from throwing a mitt at Kaoru as the first-year (and really, every other boxer in his group) reflexively looked at Ann’s chest, contained in a black and red sports bra. Apparently, it wasn’t just her training technique that was impressive.

Before she had much of a chance to feel envious, a blur of motion from the corner of Kaname’s eye caught her attention; she barely caught the chopping right from Ren.

Kaname winced but was steady on the mitts even as Ren’s pace and power picked up precipitously, a fire behind his grey eyes. Her envy faded to amusement as she caught Ren’s combinations with the mitts, the staccato sounds of the impacts drawing the eyes of the team as they watched their captain.

_ ‘Heh. Should have gotten Ann to join as a second trainer a lot sooner. Renpai gets fired up when he’s a little jealous. And it’s lighting a fire under the rest of them, too!’ _

“Come on, Renpai! Is that all you got?!” Kaname grinned, fiercely. Things were going well.

Two flicker jabs; a left hook. A sudden switch to southpaw stance followed by a left straight. He was in fine form. As he finished his turn, he looked over Kaname’s shoulder to the door, smiling and shouting.

“Coach!”

“Kid.” Shinji Takeda said, nodding curtly. He had his thick forearms crossed over his TBG t-shirt, observing the group of Shujin boxers with his diamond-edged gaze. The boxers all paused to bow respectfully. They had all met him already the previous night. Throughout the day, he had come in to offer a few pointers or run a specific drill, but was careful to not undermine his daughter. He had made it clear to the boxers that this was Kaname’s camp.

Kaname bowed as well. “Otou-san.” She said, formally. He had also made it clear that this was her opportunity to show him how her first job as a trainer  _ not _ under his direct supervision was going. She was anxious to impress him - after all, he had indulged her in letting her follow Ren to Shujin.

“Please, continue.” Shinji said.

Practice continued until all the boxers finished their three-minute round on the mitts; they then gathered around the ring where Kaname and Ren stood on the elevated canvas surface.

“Alright, everyone.” Kaname began. “We’re going to do some conditional sparring, with Renpai as your partner--”

There was an excited murmur - a mix of fear, excitement, or eager anticipation (in particular, from the two girls in the beginner group).

“--That’s enough!” Kaname snapped. “It’s  _ conditional _ sparring. Not free-form. Each of you has a deficit in your boxing I want you to work on. Aikawa. You’re up.” She continued speaking as Eiji stepped into the ring. “You’ve got a decent right. But you’re over-reliant on it and you don’t use your feet enough. So catch Renpai. He won’t be hitting you seriously, but he’ll tap you if there’s an opening.”

Eiji grinned. “Free shots against aniki, eh? Shouldn’t you put on headgear?”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “There’s not going to be anything  _ free  _ about it. And I’m good without the headgear.” He nodded to Ann; she rang the bell.

Eiji dashed in at Ren with a one-two combination.

Ren easily slipped it - and returned with two jabs delivered in a flash.

Eiji’s eyes widened, but the impact was only two quick, light taps against his headgear. “Son of a…”

Ren flashed a cocky grin at Eiji. The former delinquent lunged at Ren again.

By the time three minutes was over, Eiji had his hands on his knees, panting heavily. “Damnit… not even once…”

“You got close on the last one, Eiji. But you were too gassed from swinging frantically at the start. You’ve got to pick your spots better.” Ren said. He smiled slightly. “And you need to not be affected by a flashy grin.”

“But you’re also faster than me. Does it really matter how I pick my spots?”

“You can cut off a faster boxer by crowding him, and angling off towards a corner.” Ren said, demonstrating the footwork as Eiji nodded, replicating the movement himself after watching his aniki.

The practice continued, with Kaname and Ren advising each member in turn. The final boxer up was Kaoru. He stepped into the ring, looking expectantly at Kaname who stood ringside. She said nothing, instead sliding a rubber tire into the ring. It looked like it had come off of a pick up truck. Everyone other than Ren and Kaname looked confused.

Ren pushed the tire into the middle of the ring, placing his left foot into the middle of it. He gestured at Kaoru. “Put your left foot beside mine, Kaoru. In the middle of the tire.”

“O...kay?” Kaoru did the same.

“Now put ‘em up, rookie.” Ren said, flashing a grin. He raised his hands in a tight guard, a far cry from his usual stance.

“W-what?! With our feet like this, I can’t even--!!”

Kaoru didn’t have time to ask any further questions. He slipped a left hook from in tight before absorbing a hard right body blow with his forearm.

Kaname started speaking instructively to the rest of the team as Ren peppered Kaoru’s guard with punches from in-tight.

“Iwai’s an infighter, but something we noticed in his tournament and sparring matches is that he’s used to chasing people down who want to maintain distance. Each of his opponents had trouble dealing with him once they were being crowded. But, it’s inevitable that Iwai’s going to run into someone who’ll know how to handle it. So today, we’re making him go against an opponent who’s able to return fire from ultra-close range.”

Kaoru gasped as Ren’s fist hammered into his stomach; his ears rang as his senpai altered his chopping right into a tight hook from a three-quarter angle. Neither blow was full-force, but they made him stumble out of the tire.

Ren paused, waiting for Kaoru to set his left foot back down. “Don’t worry about returning punches yet, Kaoru. Just remember what Kana-chan taught you, and worry about your defense first. I’ll keep attacking in the same combinations.”

Kaoru nodded. Ren continued attacking in predictable combinations; soon, the two boxers were weaving, slipping, and parrying from tight quarters, neither of them allowing their attacks to be completely stopped. 

The bell rang at the end of three minutes; the two bumped gloves, each grinning through the sweat.

Kaname nodded approvingly. “Good. Then, that’s practice for the evening--”

“Wait, Kaname.” Shinji said. He stepped into the ring, holding a pair of hitting mitts. He looked at Ren and Kaoru. “Take your stance.”

Ren nodded, raising his fists. Kaname leaned forward in anticipation - Ren and her father always put on an instructive show.

“Not you, kid. The greenhorn.” Shinji said, gruffly. He held up the mitts. “Iwai, right? Come on!”

Ren looked a little surprised, but stepped out of the ring, standing with Kaname and Ann.

Kaname looked on, wide-eyed.  _ ‘What’s he doing? Why did he pick Iwai--’ _

“Don’t look so surprised, Kana-chan.” Ren said, his gloves off. “You taught him your style, didn’t you? It was the same way your father fought. It’s only natural that Coach would pick up on it.”

“What are you talking about, Renpai? I didn’t try to do that. I just showed him the best way to hit for someone with his power and body type, and... “

Kaname’s protest fell silent when she saw her father’s mitt positions, the places where he was catching punches. The way that Kaoru was becoming ambidextrous in his boxing, using both hands from in-tight. The way he swarmed and overwhelmed, the way his hips were supporting the punches. It was so clear from a side profile, with her father’s mitt technique and Kaoru’s style.

Kaoru was starting to look like Kaname - and thus, like her father, when Shinji was a fighter.

Kaoru finished with a hard left uppercut and right overhand combination, an up-down that struck almost simultaneously. It sounded less like a thud and more like a sharp crack.

Shinji nodded curtly at Kaoru. “Good. Keep practicing.”

Kaoru grinned broadly. That was about as far as Shinji Takeda went in terms of compliments.

The older man paused, seemingly taken aback by Kaoru’s grin. Something like a smile flickered across the veteran coach’s face before he stepped out of the ring.

Kaname bowed slightly to her father. “Thank you, otou-san. Is there anything else?”

Shinji shook his head. “No. You can dismiss your fighters. Come see me in my office afterwards, Kaname.”

>>>

Ren smiled slightly and sighed, reclining on one of the beach chairs that resided on the rooftop of the Takeda Boxing Gym. The entire rooftop area was a little unusual, set up like an outdoor lounge. He was tired, but it was a  _ good _ kind of tired. He knew he’d sleep well.

“Ah. Senpai! Kimura-senpai said you’d be here…”

Ren glanced over his shoulder. “Hey, Kaoru. Just felt like doing some stargazing before bed.” He nodded at the beach chair beside him. “Have a seat. Help yourself to a drink.”

The younger boxer stepped out of the doorway, looking around the roof in a bit of confusion as he got a bottle of water out of the mini fridge. He sat down beside Ren, reclining on the other chair. “...This is a little weird, isn’t it? To have this stuff on a roof.”

“Mm. When I was in my first year of middle school, one of the pros used the purse from one of his fights to buy the chairs, basketball hoop, and mini-fridge.” Ren said, indicating the objects with his bottle of iced tea. “Coach was pissed, but the guy set it all up before he had a chance to stop him. Everyone liked it so much that he eventually relented… We added the picnic table and grill later on.”

Ren laughed.

“He always grumbled whenever we had barbeques and parties up here.” Ren said. “Always saying that if we had time to party, we had time to train. Though, I’ve caught him a few times napping on the beach chair.”

“Really? He seems so serious.” Kaoru said, eyes wide.

“As a heart attack. He lives and breathes boxing, Kaoru.” Ren sipped his tea. “But he isn’t made out of stone. The only thing he cares about more than boxing is his family. And by family, I mean his wife and Kana-chan, as well as anyone who trains or works under the roof we’re sitting on. That includes you. You’re officially a Takeda boxer, now.”

Kaoru nodded. “This place is really important to you, isn’t it?”

Ren thought back to his formative years in the gym; he thought back to how even the God of Control tried to use the memory of this place to manipulate him.

“It is. It’ll become important to you, too. Do you understand, now? What I meant when I said that the fist Kaname entrusted to you is special?”

“I think so.” Kaoru said, quietly. “She holds the hitting mitts in exactly the same way that her father does. He taught her to fight this way, didn’t he?”

“More than that, Kaoru.” Ren said. “ _ He _ fought that way. The style you’re using is the same one that Shinji Takeda used to take the Japanese featherweight championship. I’ll show you the video some time. For Kaname to teach you the way she has, she thinks pretty highly of you.”

Kaoru sighed. “...If that’s true, then why is Kana-chan still avoiding me?”

Ren shrugged.

“Hard to say, Kaoru. I noticed, too. The entire week after you confessed, even all day today. I suspect it’s the reason she asked Songbird to come in as a second trainer.” Ren frowned thoughtfully. “I think part of it is just that Kana-chan’s used to being the aggressive one.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was ten years old, I woke up one morning to find her standing over my bed with an application for a marriage license. She was holding my thumb, trying to get enough ink on it for a thumbprint.” Ren said, flatly. “I’d say she was maybe eighty percent of the way there when I woke up.”

“You’re kidding.”

Ren shivered slightly at the memory. “I wish I was. In any event, I think the fact that you made the first move is confusing her a bit. She’s also trying to focus on being your trainer right now, especially for the camp…”

Kaoru nodded, fidgeting with his bottle of water. “Do you think she’s going to reject me?”

“It’s possible.” Ren said. He respected Kaoru too much to be anything but blunt. “She takes boxing as seriously as her father does, and she wants to follow in his footsteps as a trainer. If she thinks that she can’t afford to do anything but focus on that…”

“Right…” Kaoru mumbled, looking a little despondent.

“What do you like about her, anyway?”

Kaoru paused, caught off-guard. “Oh! ...Ah, honestly? I’m not sure. She’s pretty, I know that. But her personality turns most people away from even that. I…”

Kaoru shrugged helplessly.

Ren blinked, remembering a conversation with Ryuji from over a year ago.

_ ‘ _ _ It’s not just her looks… there’s something else. I’ve met pretty girls before. Reiko, my ex, is a knockout. I can’t explain it. Ann’s just…’ _

Ren smiled in sympathy. “I think I understand.” He looked up at the night sky thoughtfully. “You know, Kaoru. Before Ann and I got started, it looked like there wasn’t any chance that my conviction was going to be overturned. I didn’t want her to get involved with a criminal, so I was determined to have an unrequited love.”

“...Determined?”

“Mm. Bear in mind, I’m not saying you should do this. But back then, I decided that even if she wasn’t going to return my feelings, I was going to hang onto them. Because loving her without getting anything back was still better than not loving her at all.”

>>>

Ann brushed out her hair before settling down to sleep on the futon she had rolled out in the spare office that had been set aside for the girls. The boys were sleeping in the gym downstairs, though she had spotted Kaoru sneaking up to the roof for some reason. The two girls on the team - Asami Seta and Nanako Maeda - were already fast asleep, exhausted from the first day of the training camp. Kaname was still downstairs, speaking with her father. Ann hoped it wasn’t anything serious, but with Shinji Takeda, it seemed like it couldn’t be anything  _ but  _ serious.

The door opened; Kaname crept inside quietly, already dressed in her sleep wear - a tanktop and a pair of shorts.

The petite trainer and first-year highschooler looked over at her two boxers. She nodded to herself, seemingly satisfied with the fact that they were resting well. She sat down on the futon beside Ann, drawing the blankets up over her legs. She spoke quietly.

“Thanks for your help today, Ann.”

Ann nodded. “Happy to, Kaname. It was fun. Are you any closer to deciding what you want to tell Kaoru-kun?”

“I am.” Kaname said. She spoke in an almost casual tone. “I’m going to tell him I can’t go out with him. I shouldn’t have to avoid him tomorrow, Ann, so you can head back to the inn if you want and start your holiday.”

Ann dropped her hairbrush, hissing quietly.  _ “What?!” _

Kaname shook her head, lying down. “It’s fine, Ann. It was something my father said.”

“Did he forbid you from dating Kaoru-kun? That doesn’t make any sense--”

“No. During the tire exercise, he noticed that Iwai fights like how he used to… He confirmed it when he had Iwai hit the mitts with him. He figured out that I’ve spent a lot of time on Iwai.” Kaname said, resting her head on her hands as she stared at the ceiling. “He also noticed that I was avoiding him today… He said that if I was serious about being a trainer, I needed to be able to put aside my personal feelings for the sake of my fighter, and that it wasn’t acceptable to avoid him.”

“So… just like that? You don’t like him?” Ann said.

“Like I said. I can’t return his feelings.” Kaname said. “I’m going to focus on just being his trainer.”

>>>

August 1, 20xx

“So she really said that, huh?” Ren said, doing some dynamic stretching before working on the heavy bag. Ann sat on a bench nearby, coiling and tying up skipping ropes. The sounds of boxing and training rang out through the gym during the training camp’s afternoon training of the second day. Each of the fighters had been given an assignment to work on for the afternoon. Kaname, Shinji, and Ueda, the trainer who had driven the Phantom Thieves to Kaname’s camp in the mountains last year, patrolled the gym, offering feedback.

Ann nodded. “She said she can’t return his feelings because of what Shinji-san said. Apparently, all he said to her was that if she was serious about being Kaoru’s trainer, she had a responsibility to him. He didn’t forbid her from dating him or anything.”

“It makes sense.” Ren said, sighing. “Kana-chan’s in a tough spot. She’s not only Kaoru’s friend, but she’s also his head trainer, since Shinoda-san has to spend most of his time with his pros. Coach is right. If Kana-chan’s serious about being a trainer, her first responsibility is to help Kaoru become the best boxer he can be.”

“So she can’t date him?”

Ren frowned, tugging on his boxing gloves. “It would be hard, Songbird. A boxer’s trainer has to be willing to point out a fighter’s faults when they aren’t readily apparent to himself. The trainer also has to be willing to push him when he doesn’t want to be pushed…”

Ann smiled slightly. “I don’t know, Wildcard. That sounds a little like what I do for you already.”

“Heh. True.” Ren said, going through slow motions of combinations to continue his warmup. “There’s more though, Songbird. Would you be able to throw the towel in, if I was struggling? If my health or life was in danger?”

“Of course! I want you around for a long time, Wildcard. No boxing match is worth your health.”

Ren cracked a sharp jab into the bag, smiling at the feedback and the way the sound echoed, adding to the milieu of the gym. This was the place where he practically grew up, and training here always felt nostalgic. He paused, turning to Ann.

“What if it was for a title? World championship?”

Ann frowned. “Well, my answer wouldn’t change--”

“What if it was something I’ve worked for my entire life? Something that I thought was worth dying for? What if you knew that I’d hate you if you threw in the towel? Especially if you were the one person who I thought would always believe in my victory?”

Ann frowned with uncertainty. “Would you really hate me for that…?”

Ren smiled, waving a hand. “That’s not possible. I’m just speaking in hypotheticals… But that’s the issue. A trainer’s objective is to make the best boxer possible, but the first duty is to protect his or her life. No matter how the boxer feels about it, afterward. It’s a lot harder to make a decision when you have the emotion of a close relationship entering the equation.”

“But don’t you and Shinji-san have a close relationship?”

“We do.” Ren said, starting to work the bag. “But he’s my trainer, first. And he was a coach long before he ran into me. If he ever throws in the towel on me, or does something that I don’t personally like, I trust him enough to know that it would only be because he’s looking out for me. And he knows that I wouldn’t take it personally.”

Ann sighed. “...It’s asking a lot of two first-year high school students in their first relationship to have that kind of understanding, isn’t it?”

“It is. I think that’s why Coach pulled Kana-chan aside. I really doubt he told her outright to bury her feelings, though. That’s not really a solution, and it’s not what Coach does with the boxers he’s close to. He uses that trust, combined with his eye for the sport.” Ren said, nodding firmly. “Every boxer who has Shinji Takeda as his head trainer eventually starts referring to himself as one of the ‘sons of Takeda’, and with good reason. Kaname has that ability too.”

Ren fired a hard up-down combination into the bag, starting with an uppercut followed by a chopping right. He frowned slightly, reversing the order in slow motion to try it out.

Ann made a face as she recalled the training camp Kaname held for the Phantom Thieves. “Really? I was at her camp last year, remember? There wasn’t a lot of trust-building, then…”

“She was using her powers for evil at the time.” Ren laughed, pausing mid-punch. “She used her insight to pick out everyone’s weaknesses. But, look at the training assignments she handed out to us today. They’re perfectly tuned to each of us.”

Ann watched as Kaoru approached Kaname for some advice. “It’s good that she can just…  _ decide _ like that. If I were in her position, I don’t think I could just tell my heart what to feel.”

Ren looked thoughtful as he watched Kaname hold up the mitts to receive Kaoru’s punches. “...I’m not sure she can.”

>>>

“Hey, Coach. Can I try those combinations you asked me to work on?” Iwai asked, with an eager smile.

Kaname paused on her approach towards Ren and Ann. She hesitated as she looked at Iwai. Today, she hadn’t made any extra effort to try to avoid him. But this was the first opportunity for one-on-one practice since she had spoken with him in the morning to clear the air. Or at least, when she had  _ attempted _ to clear the air. 

_ ‘Iwai. I owe you an answer. I’m sorry. I can’t return your feelings.’ _

The violet-haired girl shook off the thought. She nodded curtly to Iwai. “If you think you’ve got them down, fine. Get in the ring.”

Kaname tugged on the hitting mitts, taking her position in the ring. Her boxer raised his fists as he exited his corner.

“Show me your step-in, Iwai.” Kaname held up the mitts.

Iwai nodded, grinning in anticipation. The expression made her heart skip a beat, to her irritation. She had to focus. Iwai could hit  _ hard _ , and a mistake on her part could hurt both of them. She braced as Iwai shot in, closing the distance like a bullet fired from a gun. Her left hand shot out in a fending jab with the mitt; her right was held across her body and down, covering her left flank.

The first-year boxer expertly bobbed under the jab as he weaved to the outside. He straightened his stance, and in the same movement launched from his back foot, his right fist smashing a hook into the waiting mitt at Kaname’s flank.

Kaname easily received the blow. The sound of the mitt, the result of Iwai’s power and her technique, resonated across the gym, drawing the attention of the other boxers - and Shinji Takeda. The petite trainer smiled as she saw her father approach from the corner of her eye, standing ringside. Her focus remained on Iwai though as the boxer entered his preferred range for infighting. His brandy-brown eyes were narrowed, but alive with the joy he held for boxing. It was the same light in his eyes that caught her attention in the first place.

_ ‘So… you don’t like me?’ _

She winced as she was just a little late in receiving the third hit, a left uppercut aimed at her chin. The back of the left mitt nearly struck her in the face. Quickly she shifted her hand to take a left hook targeted to the temple. The punch blew her mitt back as she expected, letting her drop her right to take a body blow.

_ ‘Like I said, I can’t return your feelings.’ _

She braced herself as Kaoru leaned into her, trapping her left arm against her body. His right started hammering hooks and uppercuts into her waiting right mitt. From this proximity, she could see every detail of his face; could see how he never quite stopped smiling. She could feel the movement of his body, how diligently he had practiced what Kaname had shown him.

_ ‘...I understand. If it’s okay with you, then… I think I’ll just keep liking you.’ _

What did that even mean? Before Kaname could say anything, the rest of the team joined the two of them outside of the gym to start their morning run. She focused in, to do right by her boxers - to do right by Kaoru. She had to be his trainer, at least. His friend, at most. That was all she could ever be. She couldn’t have him, just like she couldn’t have Ren--

As Kaname had shown him, Kaoru abruptly pushed hard, using his legs more than his arms. The move was intended to shove her back, to give him space for a hard one-two. But Kaname was distracted - she stumbled, her mitts flailing. She barely caught the ‘one’, her wrist stinging from the left jab. She cursed.

On the ‘two’, it was Kaoru that cried out, his wrist twisting as it deflected off the pad, bending awkwardly under his own destructive power. He was the one to stumble this time, hissing in surprise and pain.

Kaname forgot about her own injury immediately.

“Kaoru!” She shouted, stepping forward.

Shinji was already in the ring, taking Kaoru’s glove off. He frowned, waving at Ueda. “Ice and a tensor, Ueda-kun. It’s sprained.” He grunted. “You punch almost too hard for your own good, Greenhorn.”

“Otou-san… He’s my boxer. I’ll get the--”

“You’ve done enough for now, Kaname. We’ll speak in my office later. See to your own wrist; I’ll take over here.”

Kaname felt like the floor had fallen away from her; she felt numb at what she heard in her father’s voice.

Disappointment.

>>>

By the time Kaname returned, afternoon practice had adjourned for dinner. She checked on Kaoru - he assured her that he was fine, that all was forgiven. Her eyes kept drifting to his wrapped-up wrist, though. She felt terrible. Kaoru was  _ her _ boxer, and it was  _ her _ lapse in concentration that ended up hurting him.

When the evening practice started, her heart just wasn’t in it - particularly when she saw that Kaoru could only work on lower-body conditioning, agility exercises, and shadow boxing. Gradually, her father took the reins as Kaname simply went through the motions. Towards the end of practice, it seemed as though Shinji Takeda had enough. He gave the boxers their final assignments for the evening before gesturing sharply to his daughter. He led them into his office and closed the door.

Kaname knew what was coming.

“Otou-san--”

“What are you doing, Kaname?!” Shinji snapped. “Isn’t this your team!? I told all of you that this is  _ your _ camp, but I can’t let them just waste an evening!”

Kaname kept a stiff upper lip as the father she idolized continued dressing her down, and rightfully so. She was still wracked with guilt over Kaoru - first for rejecting him, and then being so distracted by her decision that she ended up getting him injured. Far from settling her feelings, rejecting Iwai had only thrown her into more turmoil.

“I’m disappointed, Kaname. Even when you were infatuated with Amamiya, you still prioritized his training above everything else. You have to do the same with Iwai! What’s your problem with him, anyway!?”

Shinji was momentarily taken aback by the expression of hurt and grief on his daughter’s face.

“I don’t know! I don’t know either!” Kaname yelled, tears streaming from her eyes. “I did what you told me to! I stopped avoiding him! I’m trying to put him first!”

“Obviously not. You injured your boxer! Those were advanced combinations you were having him do. If you’re so prideful and irresponsible to think that you can handle those in the state you’re in, then it was a mistake to send you to Tokyo on your own--”

“Hey, Coach.” Ren said, from the door. “Can you help me with something?”

Shinji stopped, mid-rant.

Kaname looked at Ren curiously - in all the years she had known him, he had never interrupted her father when he was disciplining or teaching someone else. And right now, he was doing both.

“Kid, I’m in the middle of--”

Ren tossed a pair of hitting mitts to the veteran trainer, nearly striking the older man in the face with them. “Please.”

Now, that was  _ definitely _ different. Ren‘s polite words had an edge to them. Kaname watched quietly as Ren led an equally irritated and fascinated Shinji Takeda to the unoccupied ring. The black-haired boxer known as ‘Wildcard’ tugged on and tightened his gloves, standing opposite from his long-time coach. Kaname joined Ann ringside as the blonde rang the bell to start the three minute round.

The sound of Ren’s gloves against the mitts was sharp to Kaname’s ears, as usual. But there was something different this time. A certain intensity to his gaze; a sense that he was punching  _ through _ the mitts. The speed of the blows picked up. Shinji narrowed his eyes, clenching his jaw as he moved to keep up.

Three flicker jabs snapped against the mitt, followed by his usual chopping right - Shinji was a fraction too slow, wincing as it caught his wrist in a slightly unfavorable position.

Kaname’s eyes widened. “Renpai…”

The difference was only split seconds, but clear to Kaname’s eye - Ren wasn’t waiting for Shinji to present the targets. Instead, he was taking the initiative.

Kaname turned to Ann. “Ann… Ann, have you seen Renpai like this before?”

Ann nodded. “Mm. During the fight in Kapolei against that American. And again during his return match. He’s angry, but he’s not letting it use him. He’s using  _ it _ .”

Ren slipped a punch delivered by Shinji’s left hitting mitt; it just grazed his shoulder.

The rest of Shujin’s boxing team watched in awe at the display as Shinji continued mixing in punches - the way the mitts were designed, they wouldn’t allow the coach to really punch the boxer, but they forced Ren to weave and bob. To the team, this looked like a high level boxer and trainer working together on simultaneous attack and defense.

To Kaname this was different. This was Shinji Takeda trying to take back control, and  _ failing _ .

Two flicker jabs struck one mitt. A chopping right hit the other.

Shinji tensed, preparing to lash out during the natural pause after Ren’s usual Sunday punch.

There was a resounding snap as a punch struck - a hitting mitt flew out of the ring, landing at Kaname’s feet. It had been sent there by a three-quarter angled punch from Ren’s left, something between a hook and an upper. The punch knocked the mitt cleanly off the veteran coach’s hand. It was the combination that Ren had been practicing on the heavy bag.

“...That’s enough, kid.” Shinji said, after a moment of shocked silence. He turned on his heel, leaving the ring.

>>>

After the second day of camp, Shinji waited in his office, quietly looking at some of his keepsakes. The office was sparsely decorated - one wall had photographs and other things from his past boxers and champions. He wasn’t looking at those, though - he was looking at a small collage of photographs on his desk, beside his computer. There were pictures of Hana Takeda, as well as Ren Amamiya over the years. And of course his daughter, Kaname.

Shinji was somewhat rough around the edges. He always had been, even before meeting his first wife and Kaname’s biological mother: Kanako. After her sudden death due to a car accident, Shinji became a man of even fewer words. He did the best he could in raising Kaname, though. His daughter, the only living reminder of his beloved Kanako, was precious to him. He wanted her to be happy, above all. It seemed that she wanted to follow in his footsteps as a boxing trainer, so he wanted to do everything he could to facilitate that.

They didn’t talk much. They didn’t usually have to.

He did, this time. First to tell her that she needed to prioritize her boxers’ training, regardless of her feelings. Then to tell her that she was losing control of her training camp. But all that resulted in was Ren sticking his nose in his family’s business. Though, Shinji supposed, Ren was a part of that family, too.

The door opened, revealing the aforementioned boxer.

Shinji waved at the chair in front of the desk. “I figured you’d drop by. Hell of a smash, kid.”

“Smash?” Ren asked, sitting down.

Shinji grunted. “Finally a boxing factoid you don’t know, eh? The smash was the Sunday punch of a natural left-hander who fought orthodox. ‘Razor’ Ruddock. Something between an uppercut and a hook.”

“Didn’t know it had a name.” Ren said. “I just thought it would get your attention.”

“It worked. Pretty clever of you to come up with that. You’ve always had a bit of an opening after your chopping right… Most opponents are staggered by it, but it’s a matter of time before you run into someone who’ll look to take advantage of the gap.”

“I wasn’t the one who came up with that combination, Coach. It was Kana-chan.”

The two men sat in silence for a few minutes. Shinji sighed quietly. This was strange for them. He usually spoke even less to Ren than he did Kaname.

“She’s really a good trainer, Coach.” Ren said, breaking the silence.

Shinji felt a flash of irritation. “I know that.”

“Then why were you so hard on her?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, kid.” Shinji snapped reflexively, even if he didn’t mean it.

“She’s basically my sister. And you’re my second father.” Ren replied without hesitation.

Shinji glowered across the desk at Ren; his boxer returned the look with grey eyes that seemed as threatening as gunmetal in the dim light. After a moment, Shinji shook his head with an amused grunt.

“You’ve changed a lot, kid. There was a time where all I had to do was glare at you, and you’d be bowing your head.”

“A lot’s changed.” Ren said. “But Kana-chan still idolizes you, you know. To her, the way you fought when you were the Japanese featherweight champion is still her ideal. And the way you train boxers is what she aspires to. When you told her that you were disappointed in her, it crushed her.”

“That wasn’t the main thing I was trying to get across--”

“But it ended up being that way. Because both of you are so  _ terrible _ with words.”

Shinji sighed. “So, what then? I should apologize? It doesn’t make me wrong. If she wants to be a trainer, she needs to be able to put aside her own feelings and focus on the boxer.”

“I know.” Ren said. “...Speaking of the boxer, what do you think about Kaoru, Coach?”

“Heh. I can see why Kaname taught him our style. He learns quickly, and he’s clearly taken his training seriously. He punches above his weight, too.” Shinji said. He turned his chair, looking at a photograph from Ren’s first tournament. “I taught you the basics, before I saw that your body wasn’t right for it. Iwai’s a good fit, though…”

“Do you really think she’d teach someone the style of her beloved father just because he fit the body type?”

Shinji turned back to Ren. He shook his head, with another sigh. “...I had the sense that it was something like that. The greenhorn follows Kaname with his eyes in a way that’s a bit more devoted than an obedient fighter. So… How does my daughter feel about him?”

“She’s still trying to figure it out, Coach.” Ren said. “But when you told her that she had to prioritize his training regardless of her feelings for him, she wasn’t sure what to do with all of it. She’s a teenager, remember?”

Shinji frowned. “...Hmph. Gone for a few months, and it’s like I don’t know how to deal with my own daughter anymore.”

“She’s a  _ teenager _ .” Ren reiterated, smiling slightly. “What do you expect?”

Shinji grunted. A rueful smile spread across his lips. “I just want her to be happy.”

“I do, too.” Ren said. “So why don’t we show her what it means for a trainer to be close to their boxer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What people call each other:
> 
> Ann refers to Ren's dad as 'Tou-san', likely at his and Inoue's insistence. No other special reason, other than the fact that they consider her as one of the fam already. As for Kaname, to her, Shinji is 'otou-san' from the level of esteem she holds him in. And also, she never really referred to him in the cuter ways that kids might call their dad, owing to the way she was raised. Might have actually called him 'Coach' when she was little, as that was likely how she heard him called the most.
> 
> Kaname calls Hana 'okaa-san' as a matter of respect rather than feeling. She doesn't hate her, but she respects her father's decision and feelings. She knows it would bother him if he didn't call her that. There's no relationship to 'mend' - there just isn't a relationship, mostly due to Kaname's own fears/insecurities.
> 
> The training camp:
> 
> The thought did cross my mind to make this a repeat of what Kaname put the PT through last year, but it didn't feel real. She's done some growing up since then, and since these are *her* boxers, she feels invested in them, wants to see them actually succeed. Above all, she wants Shinji to see her as a worthy successor.
> 
> The inn:
> 
> I wish such a magical place existed. It sounds relaxing.
> 
> Kenji Amamiya: He kills me, even as the writer. He's the 'cheap/looks for good deal' Asian dad to a tee. I didn't outline exactly what Ren and Inoue did to him as punishment, because I think your imagination is probably better than anything I might come up with.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of training camp and visit to Kamakura.
> 
> Heavy, heavy fluff warning here. If you're not a ShuAnn person and you're just reading this for the boxing (Which I'd find hilarious) you won't find a whole lot here. Mildly NSFW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kumite - term for sparring used in karate  
> nafuda - wooden plaques used to denote members of a dojo/teachers/students etc  
> kaijuu - Godzilla and the like  
> Bakeikimono - wordplay on bakemono, Elias/Erika's nickname for Ann when she was little and being a monster for sweets

August 2, 20xx 

The team was eating breakfast on the roof, having finished their roadwork. Kaname was already in the main gym, getting things ready for the morning practice. She went through the motions robotically, setting out equipment for the drills she had already planned for the day. But she moved purely on muscle memory. She couldn’t concentrate.

First, she had hurt Kaoru. Then, she disappointed her father.

And on top of everything, Ren felt like he had to step in to defend her - she was now a source of conflict between him and his longtime coach. The man who he held in the same esteem as Kenji Amamiya and Sojiro Sakura.

 _‘I should just text Futaba and Tomoko and tell them off, too. Might as well piss off everyone I care about.’_ Kaname thought, bitterly.

She looked up as the door to Takeda Boxing Gym opened.

“Sorry, the gym’s closed to the public right now-- Oh. Yamada. What are you doing here?”

Kentaro Yamada walked in, dressed to work out. “Sorry I haven’t been by lately. Been busy at the inn. But you’d better believe I’d come out for this.”

“What do you mean, ‘this’?” Kaname asked.

Kaname stared in confusion as Yamada filed in, followed by a few other boxers from the club. All of them were dressed to work out; most already had their hands wrapped. Shinji Takeda arrived downstairs, followed by the Shujin boxing team. He raised a hand for silence as he began to address the assembled fighters.

“I thought we’d have a different kind of demonstration today.” Shinji began. “In _Kyokushin_ karate, there is a tradition known as the ‘100-man _kumite_ ’. It is an extreme test of physical and mental endurance, with 100 rounds, each lasting one and a half to two minutes in length.”

Kaname widened her eyes in alarm. _‘He couldn’t be… that’s too dangerous!’_

“We don’t do this in boxing. At least, not usually. Today, we’ll be doing a 30-round version since we only have enough fighters to go 2 or 3 rounds each with the challenger. Each round will be one and half minutes, or else end at a knockout. Two-knockdowns count as a KO. Ueda will be reffing.”

Ren stepped into the ring, wearing headgear and gloves.

Kaname’s eyes widened as she realized who the challenger was. She stood up. “ _Otou-san_! You can’t! This is too much! Just because he stepped out of line yesterday--”

“Enough, Kaname!” Shinji barked. “Do you really think I’d punish one of my boxers like this?!”

Kaname fell silent, biting her lip.

Shinji stepped out of the ring, moving to stand in Ren’s corner. “This idiot wants to challenge it. It was his idea. And as his trainer, I’ll get him through it. And so will you, Kaname. Aren’t you one of his trainers as well? You’ll be in his corner too. First up!” 

Kaname nodded slowly, walking over. Clearly, her father meant her to learn something from this.

Kaoru, the youngest participant, stepped into the ring. He touched gloves with Ren; the bell rang.

The fight started in earnest. Kaoru dashed in, immediately beaten back by sharp flicker jabs. Ren ruthlessly stepped in, the chopping right sending Kaoru to his knee.

Ueda shouted. “Down!”

He started to count, but Kaoru got to his feet quickly, shaking his head. “Ah… haven’t been hit by a serious punch from you before, senpai.”

Ren smiled grimly. “You’re one of fifty, Kaoru. If I’m not serious, I’m finished.”

He shot in. Another flicker jab. Kaoru immediately raised his guard to stop the chopping right, only to be struck by the left smash. Down again.

Ueda crossed his arms. “Next!”

The next fighter stepped in. This time, Shou. After a short break, Ren exited his corner, facing down his teammate.

This went longer; when Ren saw he couldn’t quickly overwhelm Shou, he backed off, keeping his distance with jabs, trying not to waste energy. Each of his punches was sharp, though.

The bell rang at the end of one and a half minutes. Shou left the ring, immediately replaced by Eiji.

And then Yamada.

And then another.

And another...

With each subsequent round, Ren became more and more fatigued. His punches became less crisp; he was drenched in sweat, resorting to clinching and check hooks to try to keep his opponents at bay. He was known to favor outboxing, so most of his opponents sought to smother and crowd him, preventing him from catching his breath. During Iwai’s third turn, he caught Ren hard with a right body blow, sending his senpai to his knees.

Ren rose on shaky feet at the six count, raising his fists - just as the bell rang to end the round.

Ren turned, leaning on the ropes, almost wheezing. He clutched at his stomach with his glove where Iwai had struck him; his eyes were unfocused as he spent the entirety of his will on keeping himself upright. He waved off the stool that Kaname placed in his corner. The little smile he gave her told the trainer that if he sat down, he wouldn’t be getting back up.

He looked awful, not a single hint of his usual confidence and swagger left.

There were still ten rounds to go.

Kaname looked for Ann frantically. Ann would stop this. She wouldn’t be able to watch this go on. She spotted her - and she was right. Ann was clutching the edge of the bench she was seated on, practically sitting on her hands to stop herself from interfering. She closed her eyes as Ren took another punch.

Kaname couldn’t watch this either. She snatched at the towel on her father’s shoulder so she could fling it into the ring. His hand shot over, grabbing the other end of the towel.

“What are you doing, Kaname?” His grip was like iron as he kept her from throwing it.

“Stopping this! Otou-san, look at him! Renpai can’t take more of this. Aren’t you his trainer!? You’re supposed to look out for him--”

“It’s just fatigue.” Shinji said. “He isn’t in any danger, and he could learn something critical from this. In all of his fights on his return to high school boxing, he hasn’t ever been pushed this far. He hasn’t had to fight fatigued; he hasn’t had to exert his entire will just to stay focused.”

The fights continued. At this point, Ren wasn’t winning rounds anymore. His feet were still, his usually agile and quick style completely silenced. He just kept a tight guard, throwing counters and punches that lacked power. But, his eyes were alive.

Ren took another down, a body blow once again putting him to his knees.

“This is crazy, you can’t--...”

Kaname fell silent, looking at her father’s hand. He had an iron grip on the towel because he was preventing _himself_ from throwing it in.

Shinji caught her eye. “Do you understand now, Kaname? What it means to be a trainer to someone who’s close to you? That’s my family in the ring. I can’t be the kind of trainer I am without getting close to my boxers. Without building trust.”

Kaname nodded slowly. She understood. Her father wasn’t asking her to distance herself from Iwai. But if she was going to care about him… if she was going to be his trainer, friend, and possibly more, she had to accept that she was training him to put his body on the line, especially if Iwai decided to make the leap to pro boxing. She had to accept that there would be times where she’d want to leave - where she wouldn’t be able to stand watching him take punishment - but she’d have to stay. She’d have to watch as he was taken apart, or worse, she’d have to decide for him, and throw in the towel. Even if she was supposed to be the one who believed in him the most.

She had to decide if she wanted to take on that burden, or not.

The bell rang at the conclusion of the 30th round. Ren’s final opponent, one of the gym’s pros, backed away. Ren was trapped in the corner, where he had just been absorbing punches over his guard. He collapsed to the canvas, lying on his back and panting heavily.

“How… how’d I look, Coach?” Ren said, looking up as Shinji stepped into the ring.

Shinji knelt as Ren sat up, helping him take off his headgear and gloves. The assembled boxers applauded and cheered, passing around bottles of water and sports drinks.

“Terrible.” Shinji shook his head. “You were getting too sloppy. Your punches weren’t alive in the last round. You were a sandbag. I should have thrown it in.”

“Heh…” Ren smiled.

Shinji shook his head, giving Ren a fatherly smile. He clapped Ren’s shoulder. “You looked terrible, but I’m proud of you.”

“So…?”

Shinji nodded, watching as Kaname spoke with Kaoru, gesturing sharply as she gave constructive criticism about his bouts with Ren. “I think the message was received.”

Ren nodded. “Good.” He started to stand. “We should get on with the usual morning practice---...Whoa!”

He staggered, nearly falling again. Ann was at his side in an instant, supporting him.

“Everyone else is going to get on with the rest of practice, Wildcard.” Ann said, shaking her head. “You’re taking the day off.”

“I’m not hurt. I didn’t take any real damage, I’m just fatigued--”

Kaname stepped into the ring in front of him, shaking her head. “No, Renpai. Go on home for the day. Ueda-san will drive you back. I need a quick word, though.”

>>>

After speaking with Kaname and a short trip in the gym’s van, Ren found himself in the stone bath in Ann’s suite, soaking his fatigued and sore muscles in the waters from the nearby onsen. The suite was a shorter walk from the entrance compared to the family quarters, and both of his parents were busy enough with the inn that he didn’t want to trouble them with trying to take care of him. On top of that, the stone bath was a lot nicer than the bathtub in the family quarters; this one was built into the floor, and somewhere between a soaker tub and jacuzzi in size.

And of course, this was their first opportunity to be alone together since the start of their month off from school. That is, it would have been if Ann was willing to come in.

Ren turned in the bath, placing his forearms on the edge of the bath and resting his chin on his wet skin.

“Songbird? You’re not coming in?” Ren called out the door of the bathroom. He smiled slightly.

“It’s the middle of the morning and we’re under your parents’ roof, remember?” Ann called back from the other room.

“ _Technically_ , the roof of the family quarters is on top of a separate building. And I seem to remember a certain morning during our spring visit where we ended up delaying our run.”

“I also seem to remember that was when the inn was empty except for our friends and your parents, Wildcard. So, _nope_ ~.” Ann sang.

Ren sighed, turning onto his back again. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“I can blame him for trying multiple times.” Ann chided. Ren could tell she was smiling from the sound of her voice, though. “Are you doing okay in there?”

“Mm. Like I said, just a little sore and tired. I haven’t had to fight like that since our Phantom Thief days.” Ren said, turning onto his back again with a slight grimace. It still hurt a little to move. He sighed indulgently, letting himself sink up to his neck in the hot water. “I can’t believe I made it through all thirty rounds.”

“Neither can I. The last ten were pretty bad, Wildcard… I was actually worried.”

“Sorry.” Ren stretched his legs; he winced; he was still cramping up despite the pleasant feel of the water. He clicked his tongue a bit at the pain. “Tch… I’m glad it worked out, though.”

“You and Shinji-san couldn’t have just spoken to Kaname?” Ann sounded like she was just outside the door, now.

“That’s not really how they are, unfortunately.” Ren grunted, reaching to try to massage a knot out of his thigh. “Talking is what made this necessary in the first place.”

“Unfortunately for you.” Ann said, sliding the door open. Her hair was pinned up, and she wore a robe. Though, her legs were clearly bare underneath.

Ren started to grin hopefully.

Ann motioned with her hand. “Turn around.”

“Why? It’s not like we haven’t seen…”

Ann blushed, looking annoyed. “It’s not like we’ve ever bathed together before! And like I said, it’s the middle of the morning, and the inn isn’t exactly empty this time. It’s embarrassing no matter how you look at it. So if you want me to come in, turn around.”

Ren relented, turning around. He was rewarded by the sound of a robe being doffed and a slender form slipping into the water behind him. “What made you change your mind?”

“The sound of you struggling, Wildcard. I don’t think you’re ‘just a little sore’. You can barely bathe yourself, can’t you?” Ann said, softly. She started to massage and press his shoulders and back from behind. “That was really hard to watch, you know? The Metaverse was one thing. At least there, I was fighting by your side. And your boxing up until now, you haven’t really struggled. Even though this was just a training exercise, it was a little scary to see you so worn down.”

Ren leaned on the edge of the bath, his head on his crossed forearms. He closed his eyes, feeling his shoulders start to loosen up. “Sorry, Songbird… You know, if I go pro…”

Ann’s hands paused. He felt her press up against his back, kissing the nape of his neck. “I know. I know… We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get there.”

He turned around, pulling Ann against himself. She startled at first, before settling against his chest.

“It’s part of the reason I’ve been so hesitant.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I’ve seen what a pro career can do to a boxer and their families. If you sustain a bad enough brain injury, you can get to the point where you can’t even function in a normal job or maintain a stable relationship.”

Ann nodded. “Mm. We’ve talked about this before… It’s like you’re waiting for something to happen to make you decide one way or the other.”

“Maybe I am.” Ren said. “Or maybe it’s just fear. I have my parents, our friends. I have you. I don’t want to lose any of that.”

“You won’t.” Ann said, kissing him softly. “I told you I’d support you, no matter what you decided.”

“I know.” Ren murmured, kissing her back. “But even without boxing, this is a good dream for the future as well, isn’t it? Peaceful days like this, at your side...”

Ann’s face was already flushed from the heat of the water; the color on her pale skin only deepened. Her hands slid down to start working on his thighs, under the surface of the hot water. Ren groaned quietly at the sensation - and also the sight as she leaned back, ostensibly to get a better angle on the massage. She didn’t tell him to turn around this time.

“You’re sweet.” She murmured, her hands drifting just a little _higher_ on his legs.

Ren leaned back in the bath, resting his head on the towel folded on the edge of the bath. He sighed as her hand drifted to his inner thighs. He noticed Ann’s voice take on a decidedly innocent tone, now. Apparently, she thought that was a nice dream, too.

“You’re just sore _everywhere_ , aren’t you…?”

“Mm…” Ren groaned softly. “Ah… Really glad I decided to step in, now…”

“Do you think it helped?” Ann asked. “Is Kaname feeling better?”

Her voice was so controlled, casual. A little quirk at the side of her mouth told Ren that she was teasing him, seeing if he could maintain the conversation.

“I… I think so.” Ren said, in a strained voice. Her hands moved slowly, rhythmically, the pressure and pleasure steady. Ren lifted his head to look at her; she just smirked slightly at him, not stopping. Rather, she arched her back just a little for him, moving closer as she straddled his legs, the water now just below the level of her breasts.

“What did she say, when she pulled you aside?”

“Ah… Ann…” Ren kissed at her chest. “She just confessed, and then--!!”

Ann _squeezed_ , her playful voice disappearing instantly. “She _what!?”_

“Ouch! It… It isn’t what you think. Let me explain.”

>>>

“No, Renpai. Go on home for the day. Ueda-san will drive you back. I need a quick word, though.” Kaname said. “Maybe on the roof?”

“Hm? Sure…” Ren said, glancing at Ann. “Songbird, can you help? I’m not sure I can handle that many stairs just yet.”

“...A word _alone_ , Renpai.” Kaname said, quietly. “Ann, if it’s okay with you…?”

Ren blinked. _That_ was unusual, even if the two were on better terms these days. He looked at his girlfriend for guidance, but she seemed to be just as surprised. After a moment of quietly observing the violet-haired spitfire, the blonde just nodded.

“That’s fine, Kaname. Can you help him up there on your own?”

“We’ll manage. Thanks, Ann.” Kaname took over as Ren’s support, draping his arm over her deceptively strong shoulders. Within a few minutes, he and Kaname were on the roof, standing beside the rail at the edge.

Kaname turned to Ren, smiling. “Ne, Renpai. Do you remember the last time we were up here alone?”

“It’s hard to forget, Kana-chan. It was the start of third year of middle school for me, first for you.” Ren said, thinking back. It was when he had ‘the talk’ with Kaname, putting an end to her romantic pursuit of him.

She nodded, looking back out at the street below them. “That’s right… That was when you let me down easy. Even though I was pretty crazy…”

“It’s not like you to admit that.” Ren said, chuckling quietly. “Even after the marriage license incident, you insisted that was a ‘normal and beautiful thing for two people in love to do’.”

Ren quieted, watching as Kaname just smiled slightly. She seemed different than usual - something in the way she was standing, the way she was carrying herself. Her physical stature was always tiny - she was no taller than Futaba, even if she was far more athletic than his other surrogate sister. But, she was like her father. She had a presence that made her height seem inconsequential. But, right now - Kaname Takeda seemed _small_.

“...You know, you never actually said it.” Kaname said, softly.

“What do you mean?” Ren asked. “I…”

_‘It’s amazing to think we’ve known each other for so long, right? I wouldn’t be half the boxer I am now if it weren’t for you. I really am grateful. But, Kana-chan… we’re in the same school, now. It’s not fair to you for us to keep doing this. I care about you too much, and… …Well. What I really meant to say is, I’m sorr--’_

_‘Ne, Renpai. It’s fine. Really, it is. I mean, it was pretty serious to start, but now, we’re both getting older, right? It’s fine. No hard feelings.’_

“...I never said it.” Ren murmured, looking over at Kaname as they both leaned on the rail.

Kaname nodded. “It’s not your fault, Renpai. I didn’t let you say the words. Later on, I told myself it was because if you never said the words, then one day, maybe we’d end up together after all. I told myself that way, the door would still be open, just a crack. Stupid, I know.”

“Later on…?”

“Mm. I think I was actually just afraid. I was afraid of how much it would hurt to hear it. And I was afraid that after hearing it, I wouldn’t have anything left. I wanted to go on loving you, no matter what. I didn’t want anything to change.”

The two teenagers stood in silence for a few moments longer.

Kaname smiled wistfully, looking down towards the street where she had watched Ren disappear around the corner. “I never really got into the manga you lent me over the years, Renpai. I always thought the girls in them were kinda spineless. But the whole confession equals closure thing… What do you think about that?”

Ren returned the smile, understanding where she was going with this. “I think there’s something to it, Kana-chan.”

“Good. Then…” She pushed back from the rail, turning to face Ren, her hands clasped behind her back. Her gaze was bright and determined.

“Renpai… I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time. Will you go out with me?”

Ren paused, taking the time to really listen to her words - to think of what the petite girl really meant to him. He bowed.

“I’m sorry, Kana-chan. You’re one of the most important people in my life, but I don’t love you in that way. Thank you for watching over me all these years… Thank you for your feelings.”

Kaname smiled triumphantly, tears brimming in her eyes. She stepped forward, hugging her first love, shaking her head slowly.

“No… Thank you, Renpai. Thank you for being part of my family.”

>>>

Ann frowned. Her grip relaxed. “I suppose that’s fine, then.”

Ren sighed in profound relief, before smiling at the look on Ann’s face. She did look terribly cute when she was a little jealous. “You know me, Songbird. I wouldn’t stray.”

“I know.” Ann said, moving closer to him as she continued to straddle his lap in the bath. She kissed him, cradling his face between her palms. “Though, even I have to admit that Kaname’s looked a lot cuter, lately. A girl in love, I guess.”

Ren nodded. “She did look pretty good in that yukata during the festival--Ah!”

Ann raised an eyebrow, casually rolling her hips, grinding against Ren’s lap. Ren’s eyes bulged; they were _almost_ …

“I don’t really want to hear you say that, Wildcard. Now you owe me.” Ann purred. She slipped out of the bath, to Ren’s initial disappointment. But, she stayed seated on the edge, her finger motioning in a ‘come hither’ gesture. From the wicked smile on her face and the way she leaned back, her knees just slightly apart, made it quite clear to Ren how she wanted him to pay his debt.

He grinned, moving forward, his hands sliding along the wet skin of her thighs as her fingers combed through his hair.

“Happy to pay up, Songbird…”

>>>

August 3, 20xx 

The final day of the training camp only consisted of morning training - there was a final tune-up and review for each of the boxers of the club. At the end of the session, Kaoru fell into line with the other boxers as Shinji and Kaname Takeda moved to stand in front of them. Shinji held a shopping bag in his hand. He nodded to his daughter, with a proud smile.

“Alright. Listen up!” Kaname snapped. To Kaoru’s relief, she was seemingly back to her old self. “That’s the end of the training camp. As promised, we’re heading to the beach after this. But first…”

She gestured behind herself. Mounted to the wall above her was a name plate rack, displaying several names burned on to rectangular wooden plaques - _nafuda_. Kaoru’s eyes immediately sought out - and found - ‘Amamiya’.

“One of the traditions of Takeda Boxing is that when you become one of our fighters, your name goes on the wall. Even if you never set foot in here again, your name stays there. It’s an acknowledgement of everything you have or will accomplish… But it’s also a reminder of your responsibility. No matter where you go, you’re representing all of us.”

Shinji reached into the shopping bag, handing the first new plaque to Kaname.

“Aikawa.”

Eiji approached, his perpetually grinning face solemn for once. He received the plaque from Kaname as they bowed to each other; the boxer then went to the wall, placing his _nafuda_ on the rack in the first empty place.

Kaoru watched as they were each called in alphabetical order, until it was his turn.

“Iwai.”

Kaoru approached. He bowed, reaching his hands out to take the plaque. He blinked, as Kaname didn’t let go. His eyes darted up to meet hers.

For the first time in over a week, she met his gaze in her usual way - bold, bright. Emerald-edged. Slowly, they smiled at each other.

Ren wolf-whistled.

Kaoru startled, whirling to look at Ren with an expression of happy embarrassment mixed with abject betrayal, while Kaname turned bright red.

“W-what are you staring at, Iwai?! Put up your damn plaque!”

Ren grinned. The remainder of the ceremony concluded; the gym was quickly cleaned up.

As the team filed out, Kaoru paused at the wall, looking up at his name.

“Looks good there, Kaoru.” Ren said, standing at his side. “Looks like it belongs.”

“Thanks, senpai.” Kaoru replied. He glanced at Ren. “...And, _thanks_. For what you did, yesterday. Kana-chan… She finally looks like her old self again.”

“Sure does.” Ren said. “Come on. Let’s go have some fun, rookie. We’ve all earned it.”

>>>

Ren, Kaoru, and the remainder of Shujin Boxing’s male members relaxed under the umbrellas that Yamada had set up earlier. The former delinquent and gang leader took the day off work to not only hang out with his old friends, but also to stake out a spot on the bustling beach. 

“Sounds like the gasshuku went pretty well, aniki.” Yamada said, sipping his beer. “When’s your next fight?”

“There’s one match in the first week of September. After that, nothing until the Nationals in October. It picks up after that, though. Preliminaries for the Winter Cup, then the Winter Cup itself.”

“Really?” Yamada asked, looking surprised. “Weren’t you all fighting at a way higher pace at the start of the year?”

Ren nodded. “That was before the major tournaments started, in order to determine seeding for the Inter-high. For Nationals, it’s like an all-star tournament. The winners and runner-ups for each weight division in the prefectural inter-high tournaments gather together to determine the best in Japan.”

“So it’s different from _Koushien_ , huh…” Yamada said. “It sounds like the Inter-high isn’t as important.”

“That’s true.” Ren said. “It has a bit to do with how hard boxing is on people. If it didn’t end at the prefectural level at the Inter-high, the tourney would either take forever or people would get injured from the number of fights. So for boxing, the Inter-high is more like the preliminaries for the Nationals.”

Kaoru gasped. “W-wait. So, I’m _already_ qualified for the Nationals?!”

Shou laughed, punching Kaoru’s shoulder. “You didn’t know, Kaokun? Hell yes. You get a chance for revenge on that blonde douchebag, Kobayashi.”

Eiji nodded. “You’ll be seeded in different blocks though because you’re the runner up and winner… If you face him, it’ll be in the finals.”

One of the beginners grumbled. “That flashy guy was such a jerk. Especially the way he went after Iwai’s cut…”

“I disagree.” Ren said, surprising the group. “That’s boxing. I’m not saying it’s fair or noble, but it’s how you have to think at higher levels. You have to go after whatever weaknesses present themselves. If I were in Kobayashi’s position, I might have done the same thing - especially with how hard Kaoru can lay on the pressure.”

Kaoru nodded, with a determined smile. “And it’s up to me to be ready for that kind of thing.”

Ren grinned, clinking his can of Coke Zero against Kaoru’s. “And you will be.”

Yamada happened to look up towards the change rooms. His eyes widened. “Oh. Speaking of weaknesses.”

The four girls of the group - Ann, Kaname, Asami, and Nanako were approaching.

Asami and Nanako were attractive, and clearly fit - a function of being boxers on a hard-training team - but it was Ann and Kaname who stole the show. As usual, the model was daring in a fuschia bikini with a bright yellow, orange, and blue pattern. She cast a sly smile at Ren, knowing _exactly_ where he was looking. She sat down beside him, plucking the cold drink out of his hand.

“Thanks, Wildcard.”

“H-hey!”

“It’s a tax for looking.” Ann grinned, bumping his shoulder with her own. She sipped out of the can, peering at Ren over the rim of her heart-shaped sunglasses.

Ren, bewitched, just grinned a little. “Heh…”

“Man. I’d pay that tax if I could…” Shou mumbled.

Eiji nodded numbly. “Oh. And Manager Takeda’s pretty good, too-- Ouch! Why did you bring a shinai to the beach?! Ouch! Ow! Stop it!”

Kaname continued smacking Eiji lightly on the back of the head with her shinai, wearing a teal tankini that showed off her lithe form; her violet hair was tied back in her usual ponytail. “Because we’re training here, too, Aikawa.”

“What?! Seriously!?”

“Mmhm! Get in the water, boxers. We’re swimming.”

“Aw, come on.”

“Really? Not even for your cute little manager?” Kaname cast a sparkling smile in the direction of the boxers. She really was back to the little ball of hate in a cute package that Ren remembered, using her unique mix of physical intimidation and attraction.

Kaoru got to his feet, flashing a grin at Kaname. “Let’s go!”

“That’s the spirit, Iwai.” Kaname said, leaving her shinai on the beach blanket. “Let’s race.”

“Is that a challenge, Coach?”

“Not a challenge if it’s against you, Iwai.” Kaname replied, grinning.

Ann and Ren remained behind to watch their things, watching as the group dashed to the water, laughing. ‘Training’ devolved into a splash fight instigated by Kaname.

Ann sighed contentedly, flopping back to use Ren’s lap as a pillow. “Well. All’s well that ends well?”

“Holiday’s not over yet, Songbird.” Ren said.

Ann smiled up at him. “Good. What’s next after camp, then?”

Ren perked up. “Oh! I can’t believe it, but I almost forgot, with everything that happened. We’re going to dinner at Coach’s house tomorrow.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “Why--”

“And after dinner, we’re going to watch Yamanaka-san’s first welterweight match up! He’s taking on a Mexican boxer, Ricardo Sanchez! Sanchez is the number one contender for Danny Porter’s title. It’s really exciting. If Yamanaka-san wins this, he’s going to have a clear path to the title.”

“--are you so excited to have dinner with Shinji-san and Kaname, I was about to ask. I thought we were going to spend some time alone with camp over…” Ann pouted, looking downcast.

Ren was at an impasse. “...Please don’t make me choose.”

Ann laughed. She reached up, guiding him down for a kiss. “I won’t, Wildcard. Because I’m a _little_ afraid of who you’d choose between me and Yamanaka-san. I don’t mind. You’re cute when you get all worked up about boxing…” She blushed, smiling slightly. “...But you _owe_ me again, okay?”

Ren grinned. “Right…”

>>>

At the end of the day, Kaname sat on the sand near the water, the waves lapping at her feet. The boxing team behind her was taking care of cleaning up and putting things away. Kaoru had insisted that she had done enough already. She smiled a little as she realized - since the mitt-hitting drill where she had inadvertently injured him, she had thought of the first-year boxer by his given name.

She looked up as he approached, sitting down beside her.

“We’re almost done, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said.

“Good.” Kaname said, looking him over. He was just wearing swim trunks; his shoulders and back were considerably more developed compared to the start of the year. He had changed a lot. He trained harder than anyone else on the team, save Ren. But even as he learned the Takeda style and became ever-more capable of taking someone apart with his fists, he never lost the kindness. That warmth of his that made him approach her back in May, when she was the prickly, friendless manager, and ask her if she wanted to walk home together.

“Kana-chan?”

Kaname blushed faintly as she was caught staring. “...It’s nothing, Kao-- Iwai. I was just thinking that you’ve done really well. You had a good camp.”

“It’s all thanks to you.” He replied, easily.

Kaname nodded. She took a breath.

_‘Just say it, Kaname. Just tell him. Just tell him that you didn’t mean it, that you really do like him.’_

But even though she was resolved, she still had her pride. The idea of confessing like this after putting on such a stiff upper lip and rejecting him felt like losing, which was completely irrational.

“Kana-chan? Are you alright?”

She must have been grimacing. She mumbled something.

“Sorry?”

Kaname turned to Kaoru, glaring at him. He immediately flinched back - that was her ‘Ima smack you’ face.

“I said it’s fine. It’s fine for you…” Kaname bit her lip, looking at the sand. “...It’s fine for you to keep liking me. I… don’t hate the idea of you… liking me.”

“...Oh!... Okay.” Kaoru blushed as well, leaning back on his hands, his eyes on the water.

Kaname glanced at his wrist. She reached out, touching his skin. He startled, but didn’t take his hand away. “Is your wrist okay?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that anymore, Kana-chan! It’s already getting better.”

Kaname shook her head. Her hand turned; her slender fingers interlaced with his.

“...I _want_ to worry about you.”

Kaname’s heart raced as Kaoru turned to face her. He looked about as anxious as she felt. But his hand was so warm; it made her feel the strangest combination of safe and panicked. She got the same feeling she had when Kaoru first asked if she’d go out with him if he won his weight class at the Inter-high - a strange feeling of elation and irritation. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to smack him this time, though. But somehow, she thought that she’d be able to decide on that if she just leaned a little closer to him.

She licked her lips; her breathing picked up. 

Maybe if she closed her eyes, she’d figure out what she wanted to do next.

She felt not only the heat from his hand, but also his body as he leaned in as well.

“Oi! Coach, Kaokun! We’re all packed up here! Shou called, trotting up, looking back at the rest of the boxers. “They’re just loading the van--...”

Kaname and Kaoru were sitting suspiciously far away from each other. Too far to even have a conversation.

“...Oh? And what’s going on here?”

“Nothing!”

“What are you talking about, Aikawa?” Kaname scoffed.

Eiji came up, throwing his arm over Kaoru’s shoulders, giving him a playful noogie. “Maybe we’re talking about how you and Coach Takeda were sitting _really_ close to each other, even though the _other_ Coach Takeda’s sitting in the van with a clear line of sight to the beach.”

Kaname and Kaoru both turned pale.

Shou laughed, punching Kaoru’s shoulder. “Just _what_ were you doing to everyone’s Manager Takeda, huh?! You almost win your first tournament, and you start thinkin’ you’re hot stuff? You woulda fit right into the gang last year, haha!”

Kaname shook her head, unable to help laughing as she watched the three boys continue rough housing with each other as they headed towards the van. Kaoru looked over his shoulder at Kaname.

The two first-year students smiled at each other, unconcerned with the missed chance. 

After all, they were just getting started.

>>>

August 4, 20xx 

“Holy-- did you see that?! Did you see that?!”

“I sure did, kid. Heh. Yamanaka’s even better as a welterweight…”

“Renpai! You knocked over a lamp-- Whoa! Nice left!”

Ann laughed, looking over her shoulder at the three boxing aficionados as they sat on the edge of their seats, watching Yamanaka v. Sanchez in the Takeda household. The blonde carried the last dishes from dinner into the kitchen, moving to help Hana Takeda with washing up.

“Ah, Ann-chan. You’re a guest. You don’t have to help with this.”

“It’s fine, Hana-san.” Ann said, smiling. “I’m happy to.”

The two women worked side by side. Ann liked Hana Takeda. She was actually a little taller than Shinji, with a warm smile and black hair plaited into a braid. She was an insightful, patient person - a good match to Shinji Takeda, who was a good man, but hid it under the facade of a stern taskmaster.

The two shared an amused look as there were more shouts from the other room.

“I see that Ren-kun is still Mamoru Yamanaka’s biggest fan.” Hana smiled.

“Mm. He really is.” Ann said, shaking her head. “Sometimes I think he’s my greatest rival for Ren’s love.”

Hana laughed, smiling sympathetically at Ann. “I know how you feel, Ann-chan. Shinji can be the same way.”

“About Yamanaka-san?” Ann asked, curiously.

“No. About boxing in general.” Hana said, nodding. “It’s really his passion… It’s how I fell for him, actually.”

“You knew Shinji-san when he was the champion?”

Hana shook her head. “He had already retired from actively boxing, by then. I met him around two years after his first wife passed away. I think Kana-chan was around three years old, at the time? He was actually just working at the docks, trying to make ends meet and take care of his daughter. But one day, I saw him working out, just out of his old habit. He was running, then shadow boxing… He had this light in his eyes.”

Ann smiled. “I know what you mean. Ren’s the same.”

“Mm. It’s part of the reason why Shinji loves him like a son.” Hana said. “Can I ask you a personal question, Ann-chan?”

Ann looked at Hana curiously. “What do you want to know?”

“How serious are you and Ren-kun?”

Ann blinked, looking down at the dishes. She smiled, welcoming the warmth that crept up to her cheeks and ears. “...I hope I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Hana nodded, smiling. “I thought so. You two look good together. But, take it from me, dear. It’s not easy being with someone with an overwhelming passion for something like boxing. You joked about Yamanaka-san being your rival… I think if it wasn’t Mamoru Yamanaka, it would be something else. They’re an odd breed… Men like Shinji, like Ren-kun. The thing that makes them the most attractive can also be the thing that makes them the most frustrating.”

Ann frowned slightly. “I know what you mean. I love how he is when he gets fired up about boxing, but sometimes we don’t see each other as much as I’d like.”

Hana waved a hand apologetically. “Ah! Sorry, Ann-chan. I was getting a little nostalgic, thinking about how Shinji and I got together, and how he started the gym up and became serious about training boxers. I didn’t mean to imply anything. I’m sure that you two will be fine.”

“Thanks, Hana-san!” Ann chirped.

They chatted for a while longer, taking their time in cleaning up. When they returned to the living room, the match was over - Ren and Kaname were excitedly re-enacting the last moments of the sixth round, where Yamanaka had won with a convincing knockout.

“Did you see how he baited Sanchez into trying for an infight?!” Kaname said, making a mock-charge into Ren’s range, her hands held up in a guard.

“And then a right jab to freeze him… then an overhand… left!” Ren shouted, grinning as he chopped down at Kaname. Instead of just falling, Kaname dropped to the carpet, tripping Ren to the floor. She put him into a submission ankle lock, a huge grin on her face.

“Hey! This isn’t boxing!”

“And this isn’t the ring, Renpai! Tap out, bitch--ouch!”

Hana stood behind Kaname as the girl released Ren’s ankle, rubbing the back of her head. “Language, Kana-chan.”

“ _Haaaai_.” Kaname said, in an insincere apology. She grinned.

Hana shook her head, sitting down beside Shinji. She poured tea for her husband. “Was it a good fight, Shinji?”

“Mm. Yamanaka looked good…”

Ann sat down on the floor beside Ren. “Hm. Right jab to an overhand left. Wildcard, isn’t that what you do, just from a southpaw stance?”

Ren startled. “...What? No. Yamanaka-san’s technique is _way_ more refined than mine.”

Shinji looked thoughtful. “Takamaki-san isn’t wrong, kid…”

Ann looked at Ren. “...So, your hero switched to your weight class and used your favorite combination?”

“I guess so. That’s cool!” Ren grinned.

“...And he autographed your boxing gloves last year with ‘Hope to see you in the pro ring someday soon.’?” Ann continued.

“Yep!” Ren nodded, smiling.

“...You don’t think all of that means something?”

“It means he’s a genius boxer who’s not only dominating another weight class, but he’s also generous?” Ren said, beaming.

Ann sighed. She looked at Kaname. The spitfire shrugged.

“Yes, Wildcard. I suppose that’s all it means.” Ann said.

“So, what else do you and Ren-kun have planned for while you’re here in Kamakura? You’re here for another week, aren’t you?”

Ann shook her head. “Nothing concrete. It’s just nice to be able to relax. When school starts up again, I’m going to be busy with modeling, and Ren has the Nationals and Winter Cup. And we’ll both have to study for entrance exams.”

“Well, there’s the fireworks festival next week.” Hana said. “You’ll still be around during that time, won’t you? And I think this year, Kenji-san and Inoue are going to start hosting their party again.”

“Party?” Ann asked, curiously.

“Ah, right.” Ren said. “Up until last year, it was an annual thing. The fireworks are launched over Sagami Bay in front of Yuigahama beach, but they’re actually visible from the inn. My parents host a viewing, with a barbeque and talent show. Didn’t happen last year for obvious reasons.”

“That sounds fun.” Ann said.

Ren nodded, taking out his phone. “It’s usually a good time. And it looks like oya-ji isn’t trying to pull anything. I half-expected him to advertise that you’re performing something…”

Ann laughed. “Like what?”

“He knows you can sing, remember? He heard you sing ‘The Evening Primrose’ at Takemi-sensei’s wedding.”

Ann patted Ren’s hand. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Wildcard. After you and Kaa-chan… uh, _spoke_ to him about the website last time, I’d find it hard to believe he’d try to pull something else.”

>>>

August 5, 20xx 

Ren and Ann returned to the inn following a morning run. The two of them came to a halt just in front of the entrance, breathing hard. The haze of endorphins made them smile at each other just a little longer than usual; they might have retreated to Ann’s suite if it weren’t for Hina Konno at the front desk. The middle-aged employee waved at the two of them.

“Ah, Ren-kun, Ann-chan! Inoue-san just came by. There’s breakfast waiting for the two of you in the family quarters.”

Ren nodded. “Thanks, Konno-san.”

Ann smiled. As they walked past, Ann peered up at Ren, mouthing the word ‘raincheck’ to him, winking.

Ren grinned. They entered the family quarters, sitting down to the breakfast that was already set out for them.

“This looks really good…” Ann said.

“Kaa-chan’s the one who taught me.” Ren smiled.

“I almost feel bad. I know she gets up early anyway, but…”

“We’ll help out this week too, Songbird. Don’t worry.”

Inoue poked her head into the family quarters from the doorway. “Ah! Ren. Speaking of helping out. One of the kitchen staff called in sick today. Can you help a little in the dining room and kitchen? Sorry to ask you right after your roadwork…”

Ren shook his head. “It’s fine, Kaa-chan.”

“I’ll deal with the dishes here, Wildcard. Go on.”

Ren smiled gratefully, heading to the kitchen. He collected his apron and _tenugui_ on the way.

One of the cooks looked relieved as Ren stepped into the kitchen.

“Ah! Ren-kun, thank goodness. We’re doing okay here, but can you bus these meals out? We’ve got a few people in the dining room today.”

“Got it!” Ren balanced the tray on his arm, heading out to the dining room. It was the same one where they held his ‘welcome home’ party with the Phantom Thieves during spring break. The versatile room had been opened up into a larger area, with one wall left open to the courtyard. With the multiple tables, the area felt like an open air restaurant rather than a dining room.

Although most people came to the inn for privacy, a surprising number of friendships had started in the inn’s dining room over the years.

Ren took the meals and drinks to one of the tables, making small talk with the guests. They were relatively local, visiting from nearby Tokyo. One of the guests smiled, his eyes lighting up in recognition.

“Oh! You’re Kenji-san’s son, Ren-kun, aren’t you? The boxer!”

“That’s me.” Ren said, smiling. “Unfortunately, people like to say that I look a lot like him.”

“Hm. That’s true, I suppose. But it’s more from the pictures.”

“...Pictures?”

The guest nodded, pointing to where the dining room’s bulletin board was supposed to be - Ren hadn’t spared it a second glance on the way in. Usually, the only thing on it was local news and some pamphlets and maps for guests. Ren turned. His jaw dropped.

The board had been plastered with multiple pictures and newspaper clippings from his fights. The collection also included several shots from the _Vague_ photoshoot, with both him _and_ Ann. And underneath the pictures was a handwritten sign:

_‘The pride of the Amamiya Ryokan, Ren ‘Wildcard’ Amamiya! Ace boxer and pianist! Come and see him August 12th at the Fireworks Viewing and Talent Show!’_

“I’m really looking forward to Saturday, Ren-kun. What are you going to do for the talent show?”

Ren smiled pleasantly. “I haven’t decided yet.”

He looked up, still smiling as Kenji stepped into the dining room.

“Maybe something to do with boxing. I’ll just start practicing with my father. Right now.”

>>>

Ann sat in the living room of the family quarters with Inoue, drinking tea and chatting. Ann had showered and changed into casual clothes already. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do, Kaa-chan? Don’t Ren and Tou-san need some help?”

Inoue shook her head, smiling. “Nothing right now, Ann-chan. The morning meal service is already over, and no one else called in sick today. Ren and Ken-san should be fine as long as they keep their bickering under control.”

Ann chuckled. “They do have an odd relationship. Do they always play around like that?”

“Mmhm. Unless someone they care about is in trouble. Then they work together seamlessly.” Inoue looked fondly at one of the family photos on the wall. “They’re actually very similar. They’re both fools for sentimentality, loyal to a fault, and share an overdeveloped sense of justice. Though, Ken-san is a little more…”

Inoue gestured, shrugged, and laughed.

Ann giggled, thinking of how Ren’s larger-than-life father was completely ridiculous, with his booming laugh and habit of always looking for the best deal, no matter the risk. Ann sipped her tea, looking thoughtful.

“Ne, Kaa-chan. Speaking of Tou-san… Do you know when he stopped growing? Ren’s gotten a little taller this year.”

“Ah. Wondering how much more handsome your boyfriend’s going to get?” Inoue teased.

Ann blushed, unable to hide her smile.

Inoue laughed. “Ken-san was a late bloomer. We didn’t talk much in high school, but my friends tell me he grew a few centimetres in third year, and even a little bit afterward. Luckily, we were already dating, so I didn’t have a lot of competition…”

They both looked up as the door to the family quarters slammed open. Kenji backed in, slipping a left jab before catching Ren’s outstretched arm, throwing him flat onto his back.

Without missing a beat, Ren sat up, looking at his mother. “Kaa-chan! Can you tell this old bastard to take down that monstrosity in the dining room!?”

“Inoue-chan, can you tell this ungrateful shrimp that I’m just proud of my son?!”

“Then why did you volunteer me for the talent show?!”

“You perform every year!”

“Until I was eleven! Then I stopped!”

“Tch. Details!”

Inoue sighed. “ _Ken-san_ . I told you he’d react this way if you just went ahead without asking him. And Ren. Your father _is_ proud of you. He’s not just trying to take advantage. He wants to show the town once and for all that you’re the good-hearted boy we know, not the criminal that Shido tried to brand you as. And this is also like us burying the hatchet for everything that happened, so we can all move on. Can’t you two just… get along? For me?”

Ann looked at Inoue in surprise. Her voice was so small; her lip quivered just slightly. Her beautiful brown eyes seemed to shine with unshed tears.

Both Ren and Kenji apologized hurriedly. Ann smiled slightly, storing this tactic away for future use.

Ren sighed, looking at his father. “Oya-ji… You should have just told it to me straight.”

“Sorry, kid. I was worried you’d say no.”

“Anyway, it’s fine. What did you want me to do for the show?”

Kenji grinned, laughing with relief. “I don’t care. Something fun for you. You can even break boards if you want. Oh! Or play the piano? We’ve kept it tuned.”

“Oh! The piano!” Inoue exclaimed. She picked up the remote control for the television, bringing up an old home video. It was in the dining hall, clearly, set up in a similar fashion to how it was right now. This was a video of a previous talent show. There was a stage set up on one end of the dining hall, with the family’s stand up piano sitting beside a microphone. A boy, probably late-elementary to early middle school aged, walked up to the piano. Rather, he was trying to strut confidently, only to ridiculously adorable effect. He wore a suit that was clearly too large for him; the sleeves and pants had to be pinned up. The tie was too long.

Ann squealed. “Oh my _God_ , it’s you, Wildcard!” She clasped his arm. “You were adorable!”

“Wait for it…” Ren grinned.

His past self reached into the breast pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a silver cigarette case; he withdrew a Pocky stick, stuck it into his mouth, and started playing.

Ann gasped, covering her mouth. “Oh. My. _God_.”

As his past-self finished his set, people clapped. Someone asked him to sing - the crowd started chanting for it, clapping.

Young Ren turned red, burst into tears, and ran off the stage.

Ann blinked. “Oh. Wow. That stage fright for vocals started early, huh?”

Ren sighed. “Heh. Yeah…” He smiled at Ann. “Anyway, oya-ji. Piano it is.”

>>>

August 6, 20xx 

Ann woke up, late in the evening. She sighed, glancing at the time.

_‘One in the morning…’_

She turned in her futon, her arm stretching out to where Ren would have been if they were alone. She pouted. While they did manage to have a little fun the other day, they didn’t really want to chance sneaking into each other’s room late at night and then trying to sneak _out_ of each other’s room in the morning. Not with so many guests staying at the inn. Ann was recognizable on sight these days, and she didn’t want to create a scandal for her parents to read about. As Ren and Ann had learned last year from the article that ended up in _Boxing Fan_ , entertainment media was always thirsty for gossip.

Ann wondered when she had gotten spoiled to the point where she had trouble getting to sleep without him.

_‘Be selfish… Be selfish and greedy for me. I want to indulge you.’_

Ann smiled, hugging a pillow at the memory of Valentine’s Day, burying her blush and smile into the plush fabric. At school, he was still a space cadet in class. Outside of school, he could be a dork with a boxing glove for a brain. But when they were alone... His deep voice, beautiful gaze, and strong arms left her with no doubt that he was for _her_.

She sat up, sighing quietly. _‘I’ll just get a glass of water.’_

Ann, wearing a pair of shorts and a black long-sleeved t-shirt shirt she had stolen from Ren, left her suite, heading into the inn’s main building. As she headed to the kitchen, she heard soft music drifting out the open door of the dining hall, accompanied by dim lamplight. She smiled as she recognized the tune to _Fly Me to the Moon_.

Ann peered inside the dining hall - as expected, Ren was seated at the bench of the stand-up piano, a single lamp resting on top of it as he played from memory. He started _The Way You Look Tonight_ , his favorite. Ann stepped into the light, approaching him. She smiled wryly when he missed a note - he always liked how she looked wearing his clothes to sleep, and even more than a year later, it still had an effect on him.

She sat down beside him, kissing his cheek.

“Couldn’t sleep, Songbird?”

“Mm. Something was missing.” Ann said, softly, hugging his arm as she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

“And what was that?”

Ann could hear the little smirk in his voice. She indulged him this time, kissing his jaw before settling back against him. “You, Wildcard. So… You’re practicing for the talent show?”

“That’s part of it. Turns out, I was missing something, too.”

Ann nodded. She started to hum quietly to the music. She glanced up at Ren; he glanced at her with an encouraging smile. She started to sing along.

 _With each word your tenderness grows_ _  
_ _Tearing my fears apart_ _  
_ _And that laugh… that wrinkles your nose_ _  
_ _Touches my foolish heart_

He smoothly transitioned into _But Not For Me_. Ann was equal to the task, having heard that song countless times - it was another of Ren’s favorites. As Ann finished, he kept playing the song.

“You play this one a lot at Crossroads.”

“It’s one of my favorites. A song about being lovelorn and heartbroken… You know, I played it a lot when I was in middle school? When I had unrequited crushes and thought I was heartbroken.” Ren laughed.

“When you _thought_ you were heartbroken?”

“Mm. I wasn’t, not really.”

“How can you know?” Ann asked, curiously.

“I felt worse when I saw you crying - the day where you went with me to the diner instead of going to Kamoshida. And even worse when I had to leave you that letter on Christmas… And I hadn’t even been dumped. If those things feel that way, then I haven’t seen ‘heartbroken’ yet.”

“Oh…” Ann murmured, feeling more than a little giddy. She knew of Ren’s talent for sentiment, but he could still catch her off guard with how _sweet_ he could be.

“Maybe as long as I have you, I can’t be heartbroken. _You’re_ my heart, Ann. Maybe you always have been, and I was just waiting to meet you.”

He switched songs again - a more upbeat tune. The charming grin he flashed at her made her heart skip a beat as he began to play and sing _Haven’t Met You Yet_.

“You’re so corny…” Ann giggled. She shook her head. “I don’t understand why you have such a thing against singing for an audience. Did something happen when you were little?”

“It’s pretty embarrassing, Songbird.”

“Now I _definitely_ want to hear it.” Ann said.

“No.”

“Please?” Ann said, peering up at him cutely.

“That’s unfair.” Ren muttered, averting his eyes.

“You love it.” Ann said, grinning.

He sighed. “I do. It’s a stupid story. I was in elementary school, probably around six or seven years old. We had to sing for class… I stumbled over some words, my classmates made fun of me. I just haven’t liked it, ever since.”

Ann frowned. “Really? That’s it. It seems like there would be more to it…”

Ren looked off to the side. “Er… ...I inadvertently made a really bad pun. Even the teacher laughed. In hindsight, it was probably because she thought it was cute.”

“...Wait. This isn’t the teacher you told me about during Golden Week, is it? Miyoshi-sensei, the one you had a _huge_ crush on?”

“It wasn’t huge!” Ren said, defensively.

Ann snorted, laughing. “Oh, poor Ren-chan. Refusing to sing ever again because his beloved Miyoshi-sensei stole his voice…”

“Uh huh. Hey, Songbird. What’s your dad’s nickname for you again? Ba _keiki_ mono? A sweet-seeking monster with an appetite of _kaijuu_ proportions?”

Ann glared at Ren. Ren glared at Ann.

Both of them started laughing, sharing a kiss.

Ann settled against him.

“I always like learning these things about you, Wildcard.”

“Me too. It feels warm. Like home…”

>>>

August 12, 20xx 

The dining room was expanded and set up similar to how it had been for Takemi and Hayakawa’s wedding, complete with the small stage at one end. People milled about, chatting - not only guests of the inn, but people from around town as well. Ann recognized a few of them from the wedding. She stood with Inoue and Kenji, introducing herself and greeting guests alongside them, as if she was already a member of the family.

“Hey, Ann.” Kaname said, approaching with Hana and Shinji Takeda.

“Ann-chan! Such a beautiful dress.” Hana said, smiling.

Ann bowed politely. She was wearing a fit and flare dress, burgundy in color, with her hair down. She almost felt over-dressed - there was even someone wearing a tuxedo print shirt - but Inoue had insisted. She felt a little relieved as she saw that Kaname was similarly dressed in a cute, casual navy blue and white cocktail dress.

“Thank you, Hana-san. You and Kaname look lovely, too.”

Hana nodded happily. “Kana-chan actually asked me to help her, this time! I was so happy. I think it’s because she invited a boy--”

“ _Okaa-san_!” Kaname hissed, turning a deep scarlet.

Hana just laughed, leading Shinji inside while the gruff trainer muttered something about a ‘Greenhorn Tokyo brat’.

Kaname grumbled. After a moment, she looked up at Ann. “...I took your advice. I asked her to help me with my dress and hair, and we ended up talking a lot. She… ...It was nice. She convinced me to invite Iwai. He’s going to try to make the trip down from Tokyo.”

Ann smiled. “I’m glad.”

Kaname wrung her hands, mumbling something.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said, _thank you_ , _onee-san_!” Kaname snapped, turning a deep shade of red again.

Ann blinked in surprise. She drew Kaname into a hug, grinning. “Any time.”

Ann ended up sitting with the Takeda family and Ren’s parents. Ren hadn’t shown up yet; Ann turned, glancing back at the entrance. She brightened up as he appeared, but raised an eyebrow at how he was dressed - the boxer was wearing an old t-shirt, worn out jeans, and a baseball cap. He was chatting with Kaoru Iwai, who had just arrived straight from the train station.

“Hey, everyone.” Ren said, making introductions for the younger boxer.

Shinji grunted - and then winced, as Hana elbowed him. “Er… Hey, Greenhorn. Been working on what we showed you at camp?”

“Y...Yessir!” Kaoru said, nervously.

Hana smiled pleasantly. “So nice to meet you, Iwai-kun. Shinji-san’s been going on and on about you. He was really impressed by how you did at camp.”

“Hana!” Shinji snapped. He grumbled again, crossing his arms. “He’s… an _acceptable_ boxer, for his level.”

Kenji snorted. “That means Shinji’s sweet on you, Kaoru-kun.”

“Oh, shut it, old man.”

“You’re older than I am!”

Ren laughed, taking a seat beside Ann. “Hey, Songbird.”

Ann eyed him critically. “Really, Wildcard? Did you even shave? I can see the stubble.”

“Just exploiting the gap.”

“What do you mean…?”

Ren shrugged, smiling.

They chatted amiably over dinner until Kenji glanced at his watch, rising to call for the first act. It was an eclectic mix that included performers from the guests, ryokan staff, and some of the people from town. It ranged from magic tricks, all the way to a naginata demonstration with Inoue and one of her old classmates.

Ren rose from his seat, well before his turn - he was the last act.

Ann frowned, glancing at her phone. “A little early, isn’t it?”

Ren shrugged. “Need to get ready. Do you know why the Yankees always win?”

“Oh. Because everyone’s too busy looking at the stripes. _Catch Me If You Can_ , right?” Ann said, recognizing the reference. “...Wait. What are you planning?”

“Going to get some stripes.” Ren said, with a cocky grin. He left the room. The next few acts finished; the piano was moved to the center of the stage, along with a short microphone stand set beside the bench.

Inoue looked surprised. “Is Ren going to sing? He never sings.”

“Managed to convince him.” Ann said, craning her neck to see if she could find him in the crowd.

On the stage, Kenji waved at the audience. “Thanks everyone for coming! It’s been a lot of fun. It’s time for our last act! Please welcome our son back to the talent show after a six year hiatus!”

There was applause; Ren didn’t appear. Kenji looked around in an exaggerated fashion.

Ann laughed. The Amamiya patriarch was definitely in on this.

In a repeat performance from his youth, Ren strode into the venue. Ann immediately understood what he meant by ‘exploiting the gap’ - his baseball cap was gone; he now wore a black suit, vintage cut, with a thin black tie loosely cut. He had one finger hooked through the hanging loop of the jacket, holding it over his shoulder. He moved with a lackadaisical walk to the piano, just like he had tried to do in the family video from years ago. Only now, with a suit that fit.

Ann’s jaw dropped, staring openly. Even during the _Vague_ photoshoot, he had looked good, but the situation had him a bit stiff, off balance. Right now, he was relaxed. Confident. He looked like _Joker_. What was adorable when he was eleven was now just devastatingly handsome. He sat down at the bench, reaching into the pocket of his blazer to take out a silver cigarette case. He solemnly removed the stick of Pocky, to amused laughter throughout the audience.

Ren started playing the opening notes to _But Not For Me_. He sang, his voice low and lovelorn.

Inoue looked over at Ann. “I can’t believe you managed to convince him, Ann-chan. He’s never had any confidence in his singing.”

Ann smiled. “He gives me confidence, too.”

Ren finished his set with _The Way You Look Tonight_ , his eyes remaining on Ann through the entirety of the song. Her cheeks burned, she looked down at her dessert as Inoue and Hana laughed knowingly. Ren stood, bowing - he paused at the calls for an encore, glancing at Kenji.

Kenji waved for him to continue.

Ren nodded, he started in on _Breaking Up is Hard to Do_ , with a mischievous glance directed at his girlfriend.

Ann’s eyes widened. They first sang the song back in November, after Ren faked his death. Since then, they sang it together now and again when they were playing around at Crossroads. Ren sang the first verse. He drifted into some gentle improvisation, his eyes still on Ann. He started to repeat the verse as people in the hall looked around, understanding that he was waiting for someone to join in.

Inoue nudged her. “Go on, Ann-chan. There’s a reason why I told you to get this dress, you know.”

Apparently, the Amamiya matriarch was in on this, too.

Ann stood up - her heels clicked as she walked on stage, approaching the mic. She felt her face grow hot as the audience murmured. 

_Remember when you held me tight?_ _  
_ _And you kissed me, and it felt so right?..._

It was a classic, timeless look. Handsome pianist; beautiful blonde singer. The way they looked at each other as they performed… It was almost like a private conversation, rather than a song at a little talent show.

>>>

After the song, everyone filed out of the hall to the beach, where they watched the fireworks being launched kilometres away in front of the crowded festival grounds at Yuigahama Beach - an idyllic ending to the two weeks, Ann thought, as she got ready for bed in her suite. There was a light knock on the door.

Already in her shorts and Ren’s shirt, Ann slid the door open a crack.

Ren stood there in his own pyjamas - shorts and a t-shirt.

“Hey. Couldn’t sleep.”

Ann arched her eyebrow, smirking slightly. “Based on what time it is, I don’t think you even tried. Isn’t Kaoru-kun staying with you?”

She stood aside, though, closing the door behind him as he walked in.

“He is. He’ll cover for me if anyone comes around.”

“That’s a good kouhai you’ve got.” Ann laughed, hugging Ren before turning off the lights, slipping under the blankets of the futon. When Ren joined her, she immediately snuggled up to him, smiling happily.

“This is what I’ve been missing.” Ann kissed his cheek. “Hey? How did you know I was going to join you on stage?”

“I knew you wouldn’t leave me hanging.”

“You could have just told me ahead of time, you know?”

“More fun this way.” Ren chuckled.

“Fair enough. It really has been a fun summer.” Ann sighed, giving Ren a squeeze.

“We still have two weeks left.”

“I know.” Ann murmured. “But we’re both going to be busy. And all of us need to study. Makoto already sent us the schedule and resources that she used.”

Ren nodded. “Can’t study all the time, though. What else is wrong, Songbird?”

Ann smiled, idly smoothing out the worn fabric over Ren’s chest. He knew her so well.

“...It’s the last summer of our highschool lives. It just makes everything a little bittersweet, you know?”

“Yeah. But there’s going to be more summers… More years. More memories than we’ll know what to do with.”

Ann kissed him; long and sweet. She smiled as she felt his hands slip under the hem of her shirt, leaving goosebumps on her pale skin.

“You always know just the right thing to say, Wildcard. You know I love you, right?”

“Mm. I try. I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Golden week visit that Ann references: One shot coming up for Shuann Week about this trip.
> 
> GtD Trivia: In the original drafts/one shots, this was actually supposed to be Kaname's first entry into the story. The conflict between her and Ann was actually much shorter, starting with an icy reception at the desk (where Ann meets her) to warming up to her at the talent show (she sees Ren actually get over his longstanding stage fright due to Ann). In the original, she wasn't as crazy/violent. The yandere aspects of Kaname were added in the current incarnation mostly as comic relief (the marriage license thing, the wearing P-chan around his neck thing)
> 
> As for the talent show itself, I'll admit, it seems a bit contrived/silly, but I liked it. It actually serves as a means of introducing another OC down the line.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fall semester starts, yet another Sports Day, and the introduction of the third 'Prince' of Shujin - who apparently has a particular interest in Ann?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JBC - Japanese Boxing Commission  
> OPBF - Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation  
> Bishamonten - God of War

September 3, 20xx 

“Oh man. This _sucks_.” Ryuji groaned, slumping onto the textbook and notes in front of him.

Ann grumbled, flipping the page of her math textbook. “I _know_ , right?”

Shiho laughed. “You know, it’s nice to know that even though you two have decent grades this time around, some things don’t change. Instead of using Mako-chan’s timer, we can just rely on Blondie and RyuRyu to tell us when an hour’s up.”

Ren and Makoto chuckled as Ann and Ryuji both gave Shiho weary and sad looks. The four high school students were sitting at a booth in Leblanc, either studying or finishing up their summer homework. Makoto had her computer out, working on a summer research project for one of her professors while occasionally helping the four third year students with their work.

Makoto closed her laptop, glancing at the timer she had set up on her phone. “Heh. Shiho’s right, actually. An hour on the dot. Time for a break, guys.”

They each leaned back against their seat in the booth, or in Shiho’s case against the chair she had pulled up to the end of the table. Ryuji sighed sadly.

“I wasn’t actually talking about the studying and homework. I’m more talking about how it’s the last day of summer vacation, and the only thing we’ve done is sit here and study.”

Makoto frowned. “We played around a _lot_ this summer, Ryuji…”

Ren nodded. “That’s true. After Ann and I got back from Kamakura, I think we all went to the beach practically every week, and I think we went to every festival we could find.”

“And didn’t you and Makoto go on that motorcycle trip to Nagano? You two rode all the way to _both_ Yatsugatake and Karuizawa, didn’t you?” Ann asked. “We still haven’t seen pictures from that, by the way. I’ve been dying to see them! Those mountains are beautiful, and didn’t you stop by Shiraito Falls?”

Makoto smiled, a sparkle of amusement in her reddish brown eyes. “Ah, well. Actually, there was--”

“I dropped the camera in the waterfall.” Ryuji said, quickly. He looked at Makoto with an expression that could only be described as desperate. Makoto just rolled her eyes in response before continuing.

“--an incident where Ryuji dropped the camera in the waterfall.” Makoto finished.

Shiho, Ren, and Ann exchanged suspicious looks.

“If that’s true, then why are there some photos on your Twitter, bro?” Ren asked.

“Those are from my phone.” Ryuji replied. Again, _very_ quickly. As if he had rehearsed that. “Anyways. Man, it’s busy in here.”

It really was. Each of Leblanc’s tables were filled; Sojiro looked over at Ren.

“Hey, kid. You’re taking a break? Can you help out behind the bar?”

“Sure, Boss.” Ren said, standing.

Ann rolled her eyes at a group of girls that _happened_ to have new coffee orders the moment Ren put his apron on. Shiho shook her head.

“Pretty bold of them, Blondie.”

“It’s fine. That’s as close as they’re going to get, anyway. Ever since the _Vague_ shoot, people have been more interested in both of us.” Ann shrugged. “I mean, there’s guys in here too, right?”

Ryuji grinned. “Well. Not _all_ the girls are looking at RenRen. Some of them…”

Makoto coughed. Loudly.

“...are studying diligently.” Ryuji finished, wisely.

“Smooth, RyuRyu.” Shiho snickered.

Makoto eyed Shiho with a sly smile. “Actually, Shiho… Come to think of it, not every guy in here is looking at Ann, either. I’ve overheard a few people say things like ‘Isn’t that Captain Suzui?!’ as you passed by on your way in. You’re getting a bit of a following, aren’t you?”

Shiho quickly recalled Makoto’s promise to make her pay for the condom incident in February. While Makoto wasn’t a known prankster, she was highly intelligent and armed with an eidetic memory. It was literally impossible that Makoto had forgotten her promise.

“Uh… Don’t know what you’re talking about, Mako-chan. Besides, I’m sure they’re only mentioning me in reference to Blondie. Ever since the Champ’s dad put that video on the inn’s website, her popularity’s gone _way_ up.” Shiho said, referring to a video of Ren and Ann’s duet at the inn’s talent show. “How did your parents take that, anyway?”

“They were fine with it, actually. The dress was actually something from one of the lines they’re promoting, and they think it’ll only help my career.” Ann said. “Ren and his dad got into another fight about it, though…”

“How did that go?” Shiho asked. “Who won?”

Ann shrugged. “Kaa-chan did, as usual. A little bit of ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed’.”

Makoto frowned. “I’ve seen those two fight before. It’s hard to believe that would be enough.”

“She also had her naginata.” Ann added.

“Ah.” Makoto said, nodding. She glanced over at Ren, busily making drinks alongside Sojiro. “It really is busier here than it used to be. Haru mentioned that even during her shifts, it’s more work than it used to be.”

“It makes sense.” Shiho shrugged. “We joke about the Champ and Blondie, but if you think about it, it’s not just Ren helping out these days. The chances of getting someone who’s pretty and/or cute is pretty high. Whenever Gremlin’s here, that usually means Minimiya, Kana-chan, and To-Yo are too. And if it’s Haruru, that means Da Vinci’s probably here. So no matter what, there’s eye candy at Leblanc no matter what your preference is.”

Ann startled. “Wait. Yusuke comes here with Haru? Really?”

“Haru mentioned that, too.” Makoto said. “She was helping Yusuke organize his finances and found out that when he remembers to eat, it’s pretty much just instant stuff. So when she works a shift here, she makes sure he comes by to eat actual food.”

Ann smiled happily. Not only was Haru one of her close friends, but the heiress had handled her crush on Ren last year so gracefully. So, Ann desperately wanted her friend to find her own happiness. “Sounds like she’s thinking about him a lot.”

Shiho shook her head. “That’s an uphill battle. He’s even more oblivious than RyuRyu.”

“Hey!... ...Oblivious to what?” Ryuji asked, frowning.

“Don’t worry about it, Ryuji.” Makoto smiled slightly, squeezing Ryuji’s hand. “In any case, I think it’s changing a little. Yusuke’s actually taken to inviting Haru to his art shows and exhibitions regularly, now. They’re actually at the soft opening of a new exhibit at the museum in Ueno.”

>>>

“Ah, you were right, Okumura-san! This is wonderful work!”

“Isn’t it, though?” Haru smiled, standing in front of Yusuke’s latest work with one of her late mother’s former colleagues, a professor at Toudai. “Kitagawa-san put quite a bit of work into this.”

Haru and Yusuke were at the soft opening for the exhibition. It was by invitation only, closed to the public - as such, most of the attendees were either prominent, wealthy, or both.

“Thank you, Okumura-san.” Yusuke said, smiling awkwardly but politely. This was something he was still getting used to. When he was being exploited by Madarame, he never had to worry about speaking to prospective buyers or patrons - any networking was taken care of by the corrupt artist, of course. And after his former sensei’s downfall, he had run headlong into artist’ block until the completion of _Faith and Vengeance_. And even then, there was just one exhibition where he was accompanied by Ren.

As he fully overcame his artist’s block and became as productive as he had ever been, the exhibitions and shows came frequently. But he couldn’t ask his friend to be there at _every_ exhibition. Especially not while Ren was focusing on boxing while aiming at a prestigious university.

“It was good to see you again, Tonegawa-sensei.” Haru said, shaking his hand and bowing. Luckily, Yusuke had run into Haru right around the start of his third year at Kosei. He had been out shopping for art supplies and groceries, and _somehow_ had run out of money for groceries.

_‘Yusuke… How much did you spend on supplies?’_

_‘Ah… No more than my usual amount, Haru.’_

_‘...Is a wooden stool carved to look like a shiitake mushroom part of your normal supplies?’_

After that, Haru helped Yusuke make a budget, and also helped him invest what was left of his share of the Phantom Thieves’ ‘war chest’, the money they had accumulated from the Metaverse over the past year.

As thanks, Yusuke invited her to one of his exhibits in the spring; the heiress had helped defuse an awkward situation caused by the artist’s observations about a wealthy woman’s fur coat. Something about how her substantial bulk combined with the fur was inspiring him to paint the essence of a polar bear. Rather than getting slapped, Haru had somehow ensured he left with a potential client.

Yusuke was poked out of his recollection by Haru nudging his foot gently with her own, whispering. “Yusuke!”

“Oh! Yes, thank you for stopping by, Tonegawa-sensei. It was a pleasure to meet you.” Yusuke said, also bowing, but instead of shaking his hand he gave him a business card with his name, phone number, and the address for a website designed by Futaba on it. That was also one of Haru’s ideas. Just like referring to each other by their surnames during exhibitions. While Yusuke wanted to be recognized for his talent alone, Haru had quite reasonably pointed out that these simple professional touches could make speaking with an artist less daunting - and thus, make people more willing to discuss the finer points of his work.

Haru stifled a little laugh. “You’re getting better at this, Yusuke. Soon, I think you’ll be able to handle all of this on your own.”

“Thank you, Haru.” Yusuke said, smiling. “Though, I’d much prefer if you continued coming to these exhibitions with me.”

“O...Oh! Really…?” Haru’s eyes widened.

It was then that Yusuke noticed her face seemed a little flushed. Yusuke blinked. That was unusual. Then again, the museum _could_ get warm. Even during a soft-open, there were still several people milling about in an enclosed space.

Yusuke nodded. “Yes. While I am becoming more comfortable, I always appreciate the support of a good friend, like yourself or Ren.”

“...Right. Happy to help. If you’ll excuse me Yusuke, I should text Rui-san.” Haru said, after a short pause. She turned, walking away from the artist.

“Yes, of course.” Yusuke replied. His smile faded into a quizzical expression. Haru seemed almost… _disappointed._ He frowned. The idea of Haru being upset about something bothered Yusuke more than he expected. He started to go after her, but another guest to the exhibit caught his attention.

“Ah. You’re the artist, Kitagawa-san, are you not?”

Yusuke turned to them, bowing politely - as much as he wanted to ensure that Haru was alright, he knew that she wouldn’t have wanted him to ignore a potential patron.

“Yes. Thank you for coming…”

>>>

Tachibana’s phone chimed. Instinctively she reached for her right breast pocket of her ever-present blazer, only to find air. She smirked slightly at herself, reaching instead into the pocket of the unfamiliar jeans she wore.

**HO: Having a good time? We’re nearly done at the museum**

**RT: I am. Thank you. See you at the estate.**

Haru had insisted that she take the day off. While the former soldier wasn’t _completely_ comfortable with it, even she had to admit that for most activities, Haru Okumura was now more than capable of defending herself - especially now that the threat of the UFP was dealt with. 

And also, this was important.

“Rui! It’s this way!” Futaba crowed, pointing a finger down the crowded street of Akihabara. The orange-haired girl took off down the street.

Tachibana’s violet eyes widened behind her ever-present sunglasses. “H-hey! Wait!” 

She caught up to Sojiro’s daughter fairly quickly. This outing was actually Tachibana’s own idea. She had seen Sojiro a few more times over the summer - usually during one of Haru’s shifts, to start. Then one day, Haru, Futaba, and her ‘brother’, Ren, had ushered both her and Sojiro out the door with a pair of movie tickets.

And then the next visit, it was a gift card to a decent restaurant that just _happened_ to be expiring _that_ day.

And then after that, they hadn’t really required any more urging. Tachibana had liked Sojiro from the start - the way he was so calm in the face of the near-disaster that his daughter and her friends ran into last year. The way he seemed so _uncomplicated_. When they went out together, they didn’t talk much… and that suited Tachibana just fine. She just… enjoyed being around Sojiro. And that was rare for the ex-soldier. Beyond Haru Okumura, she tended to prefer to keep her own company.

But if she had any intention of continuing to enjoy his company, that meant she needed to get to know his daughter. Hence this outing.

Easier said than done, though. From a security perspective, the girl was a challenge, even for Tachibana. For someone with supposedly severe social anxiety, she seemed right at home in the tech/gaming district and was prone to running off. Though, Tachibana supposed, Futaba had readily recovered with the help of her friends and family last year, and her new friends this year. Moreover, Futaba just threw her off. The frail teenager was entirely unintimidated by her, to the point where she happily referred to her as ‘Rui’ without any honorific or hesitation. It wasn’t that she _wanted_ Sojiro’s daughter to be afraid of her. It was just strange, especially considering that whenever the ex-soldier visited her former colleagues at her unit’s home base, there was usually an awed hush and respectful distance maintained even by seasoned soldiers.

The unlikely pair ended up in a ramen restaurant. Tachibana took off her sunglasses, sitting awkwardly across from Futaba.

 _‘What do teenage girls even talk about these days? What the hell did_ **_I_ ** _talk about?’_

Tachibana couldn’t remember. She had actually dropped out and enlisted as soon as she was legally able to. Her only significant memories of spending time with teenage girls her age usually involved ‘disagreements’ that usually ended in tears and/or violence.

Futaba was on her phone, apparently catching a Pokemon that had foolishly wandered onto the table of the booth they shared.

“Ehehe…” Futaba grinned, evidently catching the monster. She perked up as their order arrived, setting to with aplomb.

Rui stared for a moment, uncertain of where the girl seemed to put it all. That was a large bowl of ramen. She was confused enough by her that she didn’t even break apart her own chopsticks, her own food just sitting in front of her.

After a moment, Futaba paused, her chopsticks in her mouth. She beamed at Tachibana. “Ne, Rui! You can eat. ...Unless you can’t! I knew it! You’re too tough to be human! What kind of android are you!?”

“I’m… not?”

“Oh.” Futaba looked disappointed, briefly. Humming, she went back to her meal.

“...Can I ask you something, Futaba… ...chan?”

“Shoot! Not literally though.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be afraid of crowds? And worried about strangers?” Rui asked.

“You’re not a stranger.” Futaba said, shrugging. “You kept us safe last year, and Ren-nii trusts you. He says there isn’t anyone else he’d want more on his side in a fight. Other than that Yamanaka guy he gets all hot and bothered for. And most importantly, you make my dad happy. So we’re fine! ...So long as you don’t make him sad.”

Rui blinked, looking carefully at Futaba’s expression and posture. Yes. This frail, tiny girl was _threatening_ her, a decorated career soldier. Without a hint of fear - she loved her father _that_ much. Rui couldn’t help but smile a little.

“I’ll try not to. And what about the crowds?”

“I’m a lot better than I used to be. I levelled up, remember? And with you here, the creepy otaku have been keeping their distance. It’s like having Ren-nii around. Oooh, a Dragonite.”

“So… you feel safe around me?”

“Mmhm!”

Rui smiled. “Alright, then… What are you playing, anyway?”

“Pokemon Go. I installed it on your phone already if you want to try.”

“...You _what_?... Oh. It’s right there.”

“I’ll show you in a sec, just gotta send a text to my friends.”

>>>

**FS: Hey guys, remember how you told me that no one plays Pokemon Go anymore except for otaku?**

**TY: Yeah?**

**FS: hold my beer**

**TY: Wait. You’re going to get your dad’s ex-special forces girlfriend addicted to Pokemon Go? Dude. She’s actually capable of breaking into places to get to Pokestops. Are you sure this is a good idea?**

**FS: Pretty sure it’s a bad idea!**

“Something interesting?”

Kaname looked up at Kaoru, putting her phone back in her pocket. She shook her head. “Just Futaba being Futaba.”

“Heh. Right.”

Kaname and Kaoru were spending time alone together for the first time since the fireworks viewing and talent show at the inn - the morning after the talent show, Kaoru had to return to Tokyo along with Ren and Ann, while Kaname chose to stay in Kamakura for the summer to help her father with the gym. She missed him, after all, and the time was instructive for her in terms of being a boxing trainer. It was a good summer - but by the end of it, even she could admit that she missed Kaoru, despite her substantial pride and obstinance.

So now they were out. Doing something more than hanging out, but less than a date.

Kaname glanced at him as they walked together down the busy street. He started to turn towards her; she quickly looked away, across the street. She frowned with uncertainty. She envied Kaoru. He was courageous - he not only confessed to her, but despite her initial rejection told her that he’d continue liking her, regardless. And yet the best she could do was tell him that she didn’t hate the idea of him liking her romantically. Whatever that meant. She hadn’t worked up the courage yet to actually _tell_ him how she felt. She glanced at him again.

 _‘...What… What are we even supposed to do? How do you do this?’_ She felt somewhat like a dog chasing cars. Specifically, a dog who had successfully caught a car. Now that she had a boyfriend (almost, sort of), she didn’t know what to do with him. She realized then that even when she was after Ren, she hadn’t thought any further beyond ‘getting’ him.

“So, how was your summer?” Kaoru asked.

Right. Catch up. That’s what she was supposed to do.

“It was good, Iwai. Otou-san helped me with my mitt work, and I was able to get more involved with the pros this time around.”

“Really? Who did you help train?”

“Kazuto Kyoguchi, mostly.”

“Oh? He’s the flyweight hopeful, isn’t he? Isn’t he the top contender for the national title? What do you think his chances are?” Kaoru asked excitedly.

Kaname couldn’t help but smile. Kaoru truly loved boxing, and Kaname found his excitement charming.

“I think he has a shot. The champion’s really strong though. When they fight in December, it’s going to be his seventh title defense.”

“Seventh…? That many? Why doesn’t he go after a world ranking, then?”

“It’s not so easy, Iwai. Japan is a small country from a boxing standpoint. Right now, it’s just easy to forget that with Mamoru Yamanaka terrorizing the lightweight and welterweight classes at the world level… He’s an exception.” Kaname shook her head. “The truth is, having a JBC title means next to nothing on the world stage. Even being an OPBF champion only barely gets you into the top ten.”

“Is it really that hard?”

“Mm. It is.” Kaname said. “Ever since my father started as a trainer fourteen years ago, it’s been his dream to coach a world champion. He’s raised a few national champions - good ones, too - but he’s never come close to the world.”

“Really…”

Kaname sighed. “He had hopes for Renpai, before everything changed last year.” She paused, turning to walk into a store - _X2 Sports_.

“Amamiya-senpai? That makes sense!” Kaoru said brightly - the look on his face was similar to how Ren looked when the third year was talking about Mamoru Yamanaka. He frowned after a moment. “Wait. You said Coach _had_ hopes for Amamiya-senpai… What changed?”

“Before Renpai was arrested, he was different. We all joke about him having a boxing glove for a brain now, but it’s nothing compared to what he was like before. Before, the only two things in his head were boxing and Reiko Takahase, his ex-girlfriend.” Kaname idly browsed through some boxing shoes. “And like every other boxer his age, he thought he was invincible because he was ignorant to the kind of damage a pro career can do to you.”

Kaname paused at a pair of rubber-soled high-tops.

“Because he didn’t know, he was committed to going pro. Otou-san and I would have taught him otherwise of course, especially when he started pro matches. But he still would have gone in whole-heartedly.”

“But isn’t he a better boxer than he used to be?”

“Way better.” Kaname said. “There’s no comparison. His technical skill, strength, and boxing sense are completely different. I’m actually having trouble thinking of ways to push him at the high school level.”

Kaoru looked confused. “Then, what’s the problem?”

“...I’m not sure what he did last year. Not completely.” Kaname said. She had her suspicions of course, but nothing she had any evidence for. “But he learned how dangerous fighting can be. And he learned how much he has to lose. You might say that now, he knows too much. Going pro isn’t something you can do with an uncertain heart, even if you’re talented…”

Kaname frowned, putting the shoes back. She picked up another pair, scrutinizing them. She nodded, looking at Iwai. “Do you need anything?”

“Ah, no. I’m saving up for a new pair of boxing shoes too, though.”

The two headed to the register. Kaname glanced at the poster behind the register. It had two fighters emblazoned on it, facing each other down in their fighting poses.

_‘SOUTHERN CROSS: YAMANAKA V. PORTER_

_WBC Welterweight Title Match_

_Southpaw vs Southpaw!_

_Yamanaka’s Second Weight Class Conquest!_

_December 31st - Nippon Budokan’_

“Heh. Every time I see it, I can’t believe it.”

Kaoru nodded. “It’s really strange that Porter agreed to a fight in Japan, isn’t it? As the champ, he could have insisted on America.”

“Yamanaka’s a legend.” Kaname said, paying for the shoes. The two of them headed out of the store, walking into a nearby empty playground. “And Porter’s been labeled a cheese champion by some people. He has a lot to prove, and he wants to show he can win without the home arena advantage.”

“Cheese champion?” Kaoru asked.

Kaname grinned. “Full of holes. Just like a certain infighter who keeps dropping his guard when he gets in tight.”

“That’s not true--!!”

Kaname shot in, her hands up. She grinned, tapping Kaoru’s ribs playfully with her knuckles. “You were saying?!”

“Ack! It tickles when you’re not actually hitting!”

“ _Really_.” Kaname laughed, continuing to work the body, before sending a short uppercut to Kaoru's chin. Also laughing, Kaoru swayed back, snatching Kaname’s hand out of the air with his own.

The two grinned at each other; Kaname tried to wrench her hand away for a moment, giggling.

Slowly, their grins faded, replaced by little smiles and awkward blushes. Kaoru didn’t let go, though - his fingers tightened on Kaname’s hand. She squeezed back, looking anxiously over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. His voice brought her attention back.

“I’m glad, Kana-chan.”

“About what?”

“You weren’t really yourself until we started talking about boxing. I was afraid you didn’t like spending time with me.” Kaoru said happily.

“...Opposite.” Kaname mumbled.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said it’s the opposite!” Kaname shouted, turning another shade of red. “...The opposite of not liking spending time with you. I don’t not like it.”

“...So you like it?” Kaoru asked, cautiously.

Kaname tossed her ponytail, irritated. She twisted her hand free. “Nevermind. Here.” She shoved the bag from X2 into Kaoru’s hands.

Kaoru blinked, staring at the bag in confusion. “You… want me to hold it for you?”

“No. It was your birthday over the summer, wasn’t it? In August?” Kaname said, looking at the ground. She kicked at the springy surface, made of recycled shoe-rubber. “I overheard your dad mention it when we talked on the phone a few weeks back.”

“...Oh. Oh! Y-yeah.” Kaoru said. “How did you know I needed shoes? And my size?”

“I’m your trainer, remember? It’s my job to know.” Kaname said, her blush deepening. “We’ll start breaking them in at practice tomorrow.”

Kaoru smiled, opening the shoebox to look. “...Thanks, Kana-chan. I’ll treasure these.”

“Don’t treasure them. Use them. Kick some ass in them.” Kaname said, grinning back at Kaoru. The colour never quite left her cheeks, though.

“Got it, Coach!”

The two walked past X2 on the way to the train station, passing another poster advertising the fight. Kaoru glanced at it, and then Kaname. “...When’s your birthday, Kana-chan?”

“December 24th.” Kaname replied. She smirked. “Are you thinking of getting tickets to the fight?”

“I’m that transparent?”

“You’ve got forty thousand yen to spare?”

“ _What_?!”

>>>

Ren stepped out of Ann’s bathroom, clad in his usual pyjamas. After the group finished studying and Ren finished helping out at Leblanc, the young couple decided to take advantage of her parents’ business trip to enjoy their last night of the summer vacation. He toweled off his hair as he looked at his phone, texting Sojiro.

**SS: Hey, kid. Someone from your school was asking for you. Kuro-something.**

**RA: Not much to go on, Boss. I don’t know any Kuro-somethings.**

**SS: The second he asked where you were, the rest of your fans started asking too. I couldn’t get any more details. I’m trying to run a coffee shop! I’m not your secretary.**

Ren smirked.

**RA: I hope not. You don’t have the legs for it.**

**SS: Ha ha. Don’t be late for school tomorrow.**

**RA: Or you’ll throw me out. Night, Boss.**

He chuckled, putting his phone down. As he looked up, he saw Ann quickly close a few windows on her laptop. She looked at him innocently, a little sparkle in her eyes as she sat cross-legged on her bed.

“What are you hiding, Songbird? My present?” Ren grinned. “It’s my birthday coming up in a week.”

“Se~cret.” Ann chimed, beaming at him.

“I wondered why you rushed into the shower ahead of me. And then didn’t let me come in with you.” Ren said. Ann was already in her usual Chococat pyjamas. He sighed, sadly.

“Poor baby.” Ann said, raising an eyebrow. She put her laptop on her nightstand, holding out her arms. “Come here.”

Ren smiled, getting onto the bed and receiving a hug and kiss. The two of them slipped under the covers; Ann turned her back into his chest, using his arm as a pillow. Ren draped his other arm around her waist, breathing in the scent of her hair as he closed his eyes contentedly.

“Perfect end to the last high school summer of our lives, Songbird?”

Ann sighed. “It’s a little sad when you say it like that. But… it really was amazing. I can’t think of anything we didn’t do. The trip to Kamakura, all the festivals and beaches… We even managed to get our homework done properly.”

“I think I’m ready to start the next term.” Ren said, firmly.

Ann turned her head back to kiss him. She smiled. “You’re really looking forward to the Nationals, aren’t you? And the Winter Cup?”

Ren laughed. “How did you know?”

“Like a book, remember?” Ann giggled. “When we work out, it’s pretty clear you’re working on certain things. You’re already getting fired up. The other day, it took me three or four tries to get your attention because you were too focused on hitting the tire with the sledgehammer.”

“Heh. Sorry.” Ren said, a little sheepishly.

“Mm. It’s fine. You didn’t have a shirt on, so it was a nice view.” Ann laughed.

Ren nuzzled her hair. “I guess it’s because I never got the chance to compete last year. Hell. Last year, I didn’t think I’d box ever again. So I just want to do everything I can, you know?”

“Mm. I’ll be right there with you, Wildcard.” Ann sighed loudly, obviously feigning worry. “Though, I don’t know what I’m going to do when the term starts. You were already pretty popular before, with your record cleared and that _Vague_ photoshoot. And now that video’s circulating of us at the talent show.”

“Are you feeling neglected?” Ren asked, starting to smile into Ann’s hair. He casually began to undo the buttons of her pyjama top. “Worried that someone else will catch my eye?”

“A little.” Ann said, in a way that told him she wasn’t worried in the slightest. She turned into him, pushing him onto his back. She hovered over him, kissing him. “You should fix that. Make it so that I won’t be worried. After all, now you’re a famous-for-a-high-schooler amateur boxer slash one-shot model slash recreational pianist.”

“That’s a lot of qualifiers.” Ren said, divesting her of her pyjama top. “Just high school level famous…”

Ann gasped as his hands went around her back and he started kissing at her bare chest. She pulled back for a moment, an innocent grin on her face.

“Mm. Say. Do you have any more shoots coming up?”

“Obviously not. That was a one time--Ah..! Ouch…”

Ann released his neck from her lips with a light ‘pop’. With a satisfied smile, she watched as the bruise formed _well_ above where his collar would be.

Ren felt his neck, wincing. It was going to be a _really_ obvious one. “Seriously, Songbird? I’m going to have to break out the old turtleneck.”

“Not allowed. Or I’m going to give you ones the turtleneck can’t hide.” She paused, looking thoughtful. She grinned. “...Actually, I think I’ll do that anyway, Wildcard…”

>>>

September 16, 20xx 

It was time for Shujin Academy’s annual Sports Day. The atmosphere was far different this year compared to last: Kamoshida’s crimes and Kobayakawa’s death were still in recent memory, but no longer hung over the high school like a pall. The chatter and cheer were infectious with good natured banter exchanged between the East/Blue and West/Red teams even during lunch. The Phantom Thief ‘family’ was still big this year, despite the departure of Makoto and Haru. Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Shiho gathered on a large picnic blanket on the sunlit field. They were joined by their friends from first year - Futaba, Kaoru, Kaname, and Tomoko. In addition, Yuuki Mishima was around, happily taking pictures of the proceedings as part of his dual role as head of the AV Club and a photographer for the school newspaper. Mona basked in the sun as well, garnering the attention of several students who stopped to pet and take pictures of the tuxedo cat.

“Mmrrrr nyyyaaan~” Mona purred, his tail flicking lazily. “This is the life…!”

Shiho, wearing a red bandana along with the other third years, smirked at Kaname, who sported a blue headband. “Looks like the West is building up an insurmountable lead, Kana _-chan_. Especially after that volleyball game.”

Kaname didn’t miss the emphasis on the ‘chan’, a reference to how in said volleyball game, her height had been something of a disadvantage. She smiled pleasantly. “Wouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch, _Captain_ . If I read the news right, you got a little overconfident at the Inter-High this summer as well, didn’t you? Didn’t you _guarantee_ a win, only to _choke_ in the semis?”

“They misquoted me, Shrimp.” Shiho’s smirk vanished. 

“I’ll show you who’s the shrimp during the next event!” Kaname shot back. The two girls were _normally_ close friends, sharing a love of not only playing sports, but also the science and art of training. But this was Shiho’s first Sports Day since Kamoshida had been taken down, and as a third year student, the last one she would participate in. It made the volleyball ace even _more_ competitive than usual.

And as for Kaname, the diminutive girl lived for athletics and competition - her fierce spirit was what actually got her thrown out of her final boxing match when she was still an active fighter (along with a few elbows, trips, and low blows). And so, the current state of affairs - the two girls glaring daggers at each other across the picnic blanket - was the result. Each of them had at various stages put their respective teams on their shoulders, resulting in the deadlock between the East and West teams going into the lunch break.

Ryuji looked over at Ren. “Hey, RenRen. Shouldn’t you do something about this?”

Ren waved a hand, beaming. The smile on his face was nothing short of blissful. “It’s fine. They both just love sports and are feeling fired up. Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, especially on such a beautiful day.”

Ryuji looked over at the two girls - he could practically see the sparks of electricity between them as they glared at each other over expressions that were supposedly smiles, but more like baring teeth.

“...I don’t think this competition is that friendly, RenRen.”

“It’s _fine_. Here, have a bento. I made one for everyone~”

Ryuji took the lunch, shaking his head at his friend. “Man. When are you going to stop being like this? Ever since your birthday, you’ve been _creepily_ happy. The fight’s not even until December.”

“Hee.” Ren replied only with happy Ren noises as he continued to distribute the lunches he had made alongside Sojiro and his mother.

Ann laughed, taking her share. She leaned over, kissing Ren’s cheek. “It’s kinda hilarious how happy you are, Wildcard. I’ll have to thank my agent for helping me get the tickets.”

Ren nodded. “It’s amazing! We’re--”

Everyone spoke in tired unison. They had been hearing this from Ren all week. “--at ringside! Ringside seats were sold out months ago! I can’t believe we get to watch Yamanaka-san take the welterweight championship from ringside! This is the best time of my life!”

Ren nodded again, completely ignoring or uncaring of the fact that he was being mocked. “Yep!”

Ryuji sighed. “Maaan. We can’t even make fun of you properly when you’re like this, RenRen. Thanks for lunch, by the way. Well. Thanks to you, the Boss, _and_ your mother. Where is she, anyway? Boss is still serving curry and coffee out to everyone in the canteen…”

Ann rolled her eyes, pointing to a nearby crowd. “Both of our moms are in there, probably. They’re getting along really well, but they stand out a lot when they’re together.”

Between Inoue Amamiya’s charming smile and warmth and Erika Takamaki’s grace and glamour, the two of them had drawn quite a crowd at Shujin. Ann sighed in exasperation.

“It’s embarrassing. For both me, and for the school. I think there’s teachers fawning over the two of them, too.” Ann blinked - a few people were leaving the crowd, carrying flyers. “...Are those flyers for the inn?”

“Mmhm. Otou-san thought it would be a good idea to send Kaa-chan with those.” Ren said, still smiling serenely. The fact that he was referring to his father _respectfully_ was another clue to his Yamanaka-addled state. And the clincher was what he said next. “Really, otou-san had a pretty good idea. Kaa-chan drew a bit of a crowd last year, so…”

Ann rolled her eyes.

“Hah. Gotta hand it to the Amamiya patriarch. Though, it’s a good thing Elias-san isn’t here to see that, Blondie.” Shiho laughed. “He has a bit of a jealous streak, doesn’t he?”

“A little.” Ann said, shrugging. She frowned at Ren. “Would be nice if someone else did, too. He didn’t even blink an eye when I told him what our team’s going to do for the team spirit competition.”

Ren shrugged beautifically. “It seems like a great idea!”

Shiho snorted. “Please, Blondie. Not like you were immune to his mood either. Remember the Monday after the Champ’s birthday, when you were both somehow ‘sick’ and missed school?”

Ann turned pink, raising her nose in the air in haughty indignation. “That’s because we _were_. We were stuck out in the rain the night before, and got a chill.”

“That’s not what it sounded like when I called to check on you at lunch.” Shiho smirked.

“...Wait, what?!” Ann looked horrified. “I declined the call!”

“You _thought_ you declined the call.” Shiho said, shaking her head. “God, you guys are _loud_ \--”

“Anyway!” Ann said, quickly. “Ren didn’t even blink an eye when I showed him the uniforms we have to wear this year. Chouno-sensei’s idea, of course. The woman’s obsessed with anything Western.”

“That’s right, Ann-senpai. The Red team’s cheer squad is going with cheerleader uniforms this year, isn’t it?” Tomoko asked. “I bet you’ll look really cute with the skirt and pom-poms!”

Kaoru startled. “W-wait. You mean the West’s cheer team is going to be dressed up as _actual_ cheerleaders?! Like American cheerleaders, with turtlenecks and mini-skirts?!”

Futaba nodded. “Yep! I have some sneak-preview footage.”

The friends gathered, watching the dress rehearsal.

“Oh. _Wow_.” Tomoko murmured. “The East doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of beating that this year…”

“It’s not _that_ impressive.” Kaname grumbled, glaring at Shiho and her triumphant grin. “I don’t see what the big deal is. We wear skirts to school anyway.”

“I don’t know, Kana-chan. I think they look pretty cute.” Kaoru mumbled, entranced as he watched the video. Tomoko gently nudged him; he looked up, paling as he saw a _fuming_ Kaname glaring at him. “...Er, I mean, I think _you’d_ look pretty cute? Wearing--”

“Not on your _life_ , Iwai.” Kaname huffed. “Anyway, there’s still _bo-taoshi_ , remember? If our team wins it, we could still take the day. I’ll personally see to it.”

“Didn’t you know, Kana-chan?” Shiho said, with a little smirk. “Girls don’t participate in that one.”

Kaname frowned. That was true; the game was traditionally played only by the boys owing to how rough the pole-toppling game could be. But, they were in the slightly more progressive city… and in a school that was trying to rebuild its image as a modern, forward-thinking institution.

Kaoru blinked at Kaname’s cunning smile. “Kana-chan? What are you planning?”

“Just thinking about putting myself on the forefront of women’s equality, Iwai.”

>>>

“The votes are in… And the West takes the team spirit competition!” The student council president’s voice (even amplified by the megaphone) was drowned out by the raucous cheers for the team in white and red uniforms. Ann bounded up to where Ren was waiting, flashing a winning smile at him. She still had her red pom-poms in hand.

“How did I look out there?”

Ren grinned back at her, drinking in the sight of the love of his life in a form-fitting cheerleader outfit.. “Incredible. I think I might need to thank Chouno-sensei for coming up with the idea.”

Ann laughed, twirling in a quick circle worthy of a runway walk to give Ren another 360 degree look. In doing so, she caught a few onlookers either staring at her, or glaring at Ren with barely concealed envy.

“It doesn’t bother you that everyone else gets to see me in this outfit, too?” Ann asked, curiously.

“I’d be lying if I said I _liked_ that other guys got to see you like this.” Ren said, shrugging. “But like I said at the start of the year, during club sign ups, I’m pretty sure I’d pull a muscle in my face or give myself a permanent migraine if I tried to glare at every guy who ever looked in your direction. It’s just my cross to bear, for dating and being hopelessly in love with a blonde bombshell who’s _literally_ a model.”

He sighed loudly, giving Ann a long-suffering look. His grey eyes sparkled, though.

“Poor thing.” Ann laughed, catching on immediately. She gave Ren a sly look. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if you show me the outfit again when it’s just the two of us, I’ll feel better.” Ren grinned. He took his shirt off as the players of the pole-toppling game started heading towards their respective sides of the field - multiple heads turned to follow the course of the boxing team’s captain as he took the field for the West.

Ann frowned. Apparently it was _her_ turn to try and not be jealous. With a small pout, she joined Shiho and the rest of the girls, including her and Ren’s mothers - all the boys were competing in this one.

“Hey, Blondie. Still not thrilled about the Champ being everyone’s eye-candy?” Shiho grinned. “Pretty funny how he handles it better than you do.”

“Oh, shut it.” Ann said, shaking her head. “It’s fine. It’s not like he’s _trying_ to show off…”

“True. It’s actually a disadvantage to wear something that the other team can grab on to.” Shiho allowed. She grinned, snapping yet another picture to add to the collection. At this point, Ann didn’t even protest anymore, just rolling her eyes at her bestie.

The student council president turned on his megaphone again, standing in the center of the field.

“Right! So at the latest tally, the West is ahead by 30 points! With a win or a draw in bo taoshi, they’ll win the day! The East will need a decisive victory to-- Oh, excuse me a moment…”

The president paused, listening as one of the other members of the student council told him something urgently.

Ann stretched, glancing at the group of assembled friends and noticing a notable absence. “Where’s Kaname?”

Tomoko shrugged. “Kana-chan said she had something to do.”

“Probably cry.” Shiho grinned, triumphantly. “Red team’s going to kick Blue’s ass. We’ve got Ren, Ryuji, and most of the boxing team.”

The president’s voice blared again.

“...Uh, I’ve just been informed that in the interest of equality, bo taoshi has been opened up to any female students that might like to compete.”

Murmurs and laughter rippled across the crowd.

“Seriously?”

“Please. They’re all talk. This is just to make it look like they’re progressive.”

“Yeah, there can’t actually be a girl who’d want to get into a scrum like that…”

The crowd fell silent as another player took the field, sporting a blue headband to go with her shorts and t-shirt. Kaname spritely joined the East, hands clasped behind her back. Boys on both teams stared in shock as they chattered amongst themselves.

“She’s tiny! Is she insane?!”

“W-wait. Isn’t that the boxing team’s manager?”

“I’ve heard some crazy stuff about her. Like how she beat down some dude from another school… But you’d never believe it, looking at her.”

Shiho shook her head. “If she thinks she can single handedly win this game, she’s crazy. Last year, the boys had to come up with that crazy strategy. And they probably have something cooked up again. I bet--”

Shiho stared blankly as Ren marched Ryuji off the field, pushing his friend from behind by the shoulders.

“We’re withdrawing!” Ren yelled.

“Seriously, Champ!?” Shiho shouted.

“Yeah, RenRen! What’s the big deal?! It’s just Kaname, and this is our last chance to win a high school sports day!” Ryuji protested. “And we’re disappointing a lot of people. Girls were talking about how the ‘Three Princes’ were all gonna be on the field at the same time--”

“Remember training camp? And the bouquet toss at Takemi-sensei’s wedding?” Ren tugged his shirt back on as he took a seat beside Ann at the sidelines. “Those were just Kana-chan having fun. This time, she’s actually _competing_.”

Ryuji paled. He put his own shirt back on, sitting down on the picnic blanket. “...So. Nice day to spectate, isn’t it?”

Shiho grabbed _both_ boys by their shirts. “Are you _serious_ ?! After everything you two have been through, you’re afraid of _her_?!”

Ren shook his head, just pointing out at the field. “Just watch, Shiho.”

On the field, a few boys on the Red team were eyeing Kaname with little smirks on their faces.

“Hey, so she’s pretty cute, right? And this is a full contact game…”

“Heh. So you’re thinking something _good_ might happen…?”

Kaname turned to them. Her smile was small and eerie. “Oh. Something _really_ good is going to happen…”

Ren shivered, watching as the boys instinctively recognized the danger and backed away from Kaname slowly.

Futaba’s eyes widened. “Is… is it just me, or is there something different about Kaname?”

Tomoko shook her head, snapping pictures of her friend. “Er… I wouldn’t be surprised if after we develop these photos, we see the outline of _Bishamonten_ floating above her or something…”

Shiho rolled her eyes, releasing Ren and Ryuji. She scoffed. “Bullshit. I’m not crazy enough to get on that field, but I’m sure as hell going to cheer on our side until they grow their spines back.”

The volleyball ace stood up, stalking towards the field. Ren sighed, adjusting his shirt. He looked at Ryuji curiously. “Hey. That’s the second time you’ve mentioned the ‘Three Princes’ thing. Who’s the third guy?”

Ryuji shrugged. “Never really bothered to look into it too deeply.” He grinned. “Just kinda happy to get the attention, y’know? Even if I have a steady girlfriend and everything.”

Ren nodded. “I get it, Ryuji. You’re being recognized as something more than a delinquent with terrible grades. You’re allowed to enjoy that.”

Mona perked up, cat-smirking. “Yeah! Now you’re a track star with terrible grades!”

“Exactly.”

“Shut it, cat!” Ryuji grumbled. He glared at Ren. “And you. Traitor.”

“I’m not a cat!.. ...Eh. Probably a cat. But still.” Mona meowed.

Ren waved a hand, chuckling. “You know we’re kidding, buddy. We’re all proud of you for rehabbing your leg to the point where you can run again. We all know you didn’t put the work in just to be popular and have girls chase you around calling out ‘senpai’.”

Futaba grinned. “Besides. Based on my surveillance, Ryuji likes calling someone _else_ ‘senpai’.”

Ryuji turned bright red, coughing. “Er… Anyway. The third guy. I heard he’s another third year? He’s in the band, plays trumpet or something.”

Ann blinked. “Oh! That guy. The girls gossip about him about as much as they talk about you and Ryuji, Wildcard. His name’s Ryoichi Kurosawa. I think he’s actually on the field right now, on the Blue team.”

Ann pointed out a tall, slender boy on the same side of the field as Kaname. He had unruly black hair long enough to reach the base of his neck, with side-swept bangs just out of the way of his eyes - eyes that were currently fixed on Ann. Ren turned to look, just in time to catch Kurosawa startling slightly at being caught. The boy turned back to his friends, smiling and laughing as they got information for the game.

“Huh. Looks like he knows who you are too, Songbird.” Ren said. “Hm. Even I have to admit, he’s a good-looking guy. Reminds me a bit of Yusuke, only without the ‘distant artist’ appeal…”

“From what I’ve heard, he’s nothing like Yusuke.” Ann said, rolling her eyes. “Rumor has it he’s a serial dater. Flirts constantly, never gets serious with anyone.”

“Oh. The playboy type.” Ryuji said, shrugging. “Has he tried hitting on you at all? You’d think a guy like that would be all over a model. Boyfriend or not.”

“I’ve caught him looking in my direction a few times.” Ann said, carefully gauging Ren’s reaction. “He hasn’t said anything, though. Usually I’m with you, so I think you scare him off?”

“Good.” Ren said, frowning. Apparently, the boxer wasn’t _completely_ immune to a bit of jealousy.

Ann smiled, hugging Ren’s arm. “Ah. They’re starting.”

Ren watched as Kaname shot forward, making a beeline towards the opposing team’s pole. Her first victim was thrown in an explosive _tsuri goshi_ hip throw, sending the much larger boy straight into the ground.

“Ouch. Looks like they’re going to _finish_ pretty soon, too…”

>>>

“Oh _man_ , that was insane!”

“Yeah… We barely had to move. I can’t believe that Takeda’s that strong…”

Kaoru smiled proudly as he helped a few of his classmates clean up at the end of the day. They were on the playing field, stacking up orange cones and folding chairs. The East had completed the turnaround victory on the strength of Kaname’s overwhelming win in bo taoshi. By the end, the field was littered with winded and defeated boys of the West, most having been thrown mercilessly to the grass by the tiny judoka and former boxer.

 _‘Well. Not_ **_really_ ** _merciless.’_ Kaoru thought. There were no serious physical injuries - Kaname was a fierce competitor, but ensured that the worst anyone got at her hands was having the wind knocked out of them. _Mental_ injuries were another thing though, as several of the boys now eyed the ‘little ball of hate’ askance. Particularly as she proudly displayed the red headbands she had collected as ‘trophies’.

“It’s crazy, Kuroda. How is such a tiny girl that insanely strong?” One of his classmates - Sakai - said, shaking his head.

“More like _insane_.” Kuroda replied, laughing. “I swear to God, she’s like the cutest girl you’d never want to date. I’m pretty sure she falls below the line on the crazy/hot scale.”

Sakai snorted. He looked over at Kaoru. “Hey, Iwai. She’s your club’s manager, isn’t she? What’s she actually like?”

Iwai frowned, not liking how they were talking about Kaname. “She’s not crazy. She’s really passionate about sports, boxing and judo in particular. Her and Amamiya-senpai are the reasons why the club is doing as well as it is.”

“Hey, sorry. Didn’t mean to offend.” Kuroda said, putting another chair on the cart. “...Say. There’s this rumor going around that you’re actually going out with her?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. He looked away, scratching his head. Kaname had made it clear to him that she wasn’t ready for their relationship to become public. “Ah… No. Nothing to that at all.”

Sakai laughed. “Yeah, I thought so. Besides. You like _girly_ girls, right? I saw the way you were watching Takamaki-senpai and the others during the cheer competition.” The boy draped his arm over Kaoru’s shoulders, punching his arm and grinning. “Shame she’s taken, eh? Though, it must be nice to always see her around your practices.”

“Y-yeah…” Kaoru mumbled. It wasn’t true that he was looking at Ann that way (at least, no more than everyone else did), but at least it took their attention away from Kaname and who she was or wasn’t dating. And speaking more defensively about Kaname might just add credence to the rumor that he and Kaname were dating. “It’s pretty good.”

“I bet.” Kuroda shrugged. “Sorry to bring it up, Iwai. I thought it was crazy, too. I mean who the hell would want to date _that_? If you forgot her birthday, she’d probably tear your arm off and beat you to death with it.”

“...Yeah. Right.” Kaoru said, before frowning. That wasn’t fair. Kaname could be sweet - very sweet. And she wasn’t nearly as violent as they were saying. He started to speak up, until another chair clattered onto the cart.

Kuroda and Sakai both made simultaneous _‘geh’_ noises as they looked up.

Kaname stood there, having just dropped the folding chair onto the stack. She glared at the two boys until they turned away, mumbling some excuses.

Kaoru stammered. “Kana-chan! I uh…”

Kaname just turned and stalked away without another word.

Kaoru’s eyes widened. He caught the look she had given him before she turned to leave. It wasn’t the angry glare she shot at Kuroda and Sakai.

She looked hurt.

>>>

Ren sighed, finishing up his latest duty before heading home for the day. He wiped at the sweat on his brow as he worked on the flowerbeds on the school’s rooftop. It wasn’t part of his regular duties, but Haru had asked him to see to a few things personally until the school’s gardening club gained a little more confidence in dealing with her more complex projects. After all, now that she was a college student it wasn’t as simple for her to walk onto school grounds now, even if the faculty advisor for the gardening club gave her permission to do so. Ren glanced at his phone, checking the detailed instructions Haru sent him before moving to the last flowerbed, situated at the outside corner of the enclosed stairwell that led to the roof.

He looked up as the door to the rooftop opened, revealing a very frantic-looking Kaoru Iwai.

“Kaoru?”

“Ah! Senpai! Have you seen Kana-chan!?”

“Afraid not. What’s wrong?” Ren asked, continuing to work with the small garden trowel.

“I just said something stupid, and she overheard me.” Kaoru said. He explained the rest quickly.

“...Ah.” Ren said, nodding sympathetically. “She wasn’t in the club room?”

“First place I checked.” Kaoru said, shaking his head. “...What are you doing, anyway? I thought you’d have Takamaki-senpai with you. Can I help?”

“Sure. Just grab that fertilizer over there and sprinkle about half a cup over the bed.” Ren said. “I’m doing this as a favor to a friend. Ann went to Leblanc ahead of me… she’s meeting up with a couple of other people from our class to organize for the cultural festival in October.”

The two of them worked in silence for a while. Kaoru sighed as he sprinkled the fertilizer. “You grew up with Kana-chan… Why would she just run off like that? Usually when someone says something she doesn’t like…”

“She lets them know. With prejudice.” Ren finished, laughing. “It’s true. Though, you have to understand, Kaoru. This is uncharted territory for her.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s never had a boyfriend before.”

“!! We’re not dating.” Kaoru said reflexively. He realized how stupid the words sounded as they came out of his mouth. After all, he had gone to Ren for advice about Kaname before.

Ren just raised his eyebrow. “ _Really_ . So you showed up to practice with brand-new _lovingly polished_ boxing shoes that you can’t afford yet. Shoes that you kept staring at, when you weren’t staring at Kana-chan.”

“...Kana-chan didn’t want us to go public.” Kaoru mumbled.

“I thought as much.” Ren laughed. “Don’t look so guilty. Ann and I were the ‘worst-kept secret’ of our little group of friends last year. Hell, we were probably even more obvious than you two. In any case… Like I said. This is uncharted territory for Kana-chan. She’s still probably trying to figure out how to act around you… She’s probably afraid she’ll drive you away, actually.”

“What!? That’s awful. I wouldn’t just ghost on her…”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Ren said, simply. Kaoru didn’t miss the unsaid ‘you’d better not’, of course. “But you need to remember. She’s strong, but she’s still a teenager in a new relationship. She’s going to feel insecure. It would be weird if she didn’t.”

“Insecure? But… I _really_ like her.”

“That’s obvious to most of us. But she’s like her dad, remember? You’ll probably have to spell it out.” Ren said, shrugging. He paused, pulling a few weeds and tossing them into a nearby compost bucket.

“What should I say to her?”

“Probably helps to gather your own thoughts, rather than use what I’d say.” Ren said. “What do you even like about her?”

Kaoru frowned. “...I know she’s cute and stuff. Anyone can see that. And anyone can see how she gets when it comes to things like boxing, and sports in general. I mean… that’s why some of the other guys call her the ‘cutest girl you’d never want to date’... They’re scared off by her… But I like it. I think I liked her from the day that I signed up to the club, senpai. You remember why I took the exam for Shujin and joined the club in the first place, right?”

Ren nodded. “Before I left for Kamakura at the end of second year and visited your dad’s shop, you said you wanted to be just like me and Ryuji.”

Kaoru nodded. “That was the reason why I _started_. But then I found out I really love boxing. And then watching Kana-chan do everything she does… Everyone on the team is grateful to her, but I don’t think many of us actually understand how much effort she puts in. She gets here before us. She does extra stuff during all her breaks. She made individualized training programs for every one of us. She’s constantly trying to be the best trainer possible. Seeing her do all of that… It made me want to get to know her. And then that passion of hers made me want to fight as hard as I can for her, to show her that her efforts aren’t going to go to waste on me.”

Kaoru smiled. “And the way she yells at us, the way she tries to get every last bit of fight out of us… And most of all, the way she smiles when we improve… I don’t care that she’s not ‘girly’. I don’t care what other guys think about her. I just want to do everything I can to make her smile like that. As much as I can. I want to tell her that I see her for who she is, and I like her _because_ of it.”

Ren nodded. “Sounds pretty good. So why don’t you just tell her that?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. His face turned red as he shook his head. “Ah, senpai. No way. That’s way too embarrassing to say all of that.”

Ren shrugged. “Fair enough. Good thing you already said it, then.”

Ren’s hand shot past the corner of the building enclosing the stairwell. Kaname squawked, red-faced as she was dragged out of her hiding spot.

“Traitor!” Kaname snapped at Ren. “You’ll pay for this, Renpai!”

Ren smiled, leaving the rooftop. He paused beside Kaoru. “Good luck, rookie.”

Kaoru stood there awkwardly, still holding the bag of fertilizer.

Kaname stood in front of him, kicking at the ground with the toe of her sneaker.

“...Kana-chan, I’m sorry--”

“Iwai. I shouldn’t have--”

“You go first—”

“You can start—”

“...”

Kaname huffed in irritation, heading to the edge of the roof. She leaned on the fence, looking down onto the field where she had won the day.

After a moment, Kaoru joined her. He looked at her, trying to read her expression. She was still blushing faintly; her lips were screwed shut in a tight frown. He nearly jumped when she spoke first.

“...You… you know, I used to not care about stuff like that. I used to think that boys who thought I wasn’t ‘girly enough’ were just wimps, or jealous. And then I fell for Renpai, and I _really_ didn’t care what anyone else thought.” Kaname mumbled. “...But now I care what… what _you_ think. And it pisses me off that I care.”

“...Sorry?” Kaoru said, awkwardly.

Another long silence. The sun was setting, bathing the rooftop in rosy and golden hues. Kaname still faced the field, looking down on the mostly empty school grounds.

“Did you mean all of that, Iwai? What you said to Renpai.”

Kaoru bit his lip. He nodded. “...Yeah. I really did, Kana-chan.”

Kaname nodded, her expression carefully composed. Gallant, even.

“Good.” She said, simply. “Then… then can you say it again?”

“Say what again--”

Kaname shot him a sharp glare. She shook her head. “Nevermind. It’s stupid. Let’s just--”

“I see you, Kaname.” Kaoru blurted out. “...I see you. Everything you do… everything you do, and I like you for it. _Because_ of it.”

Kaname froze. She clenched her fists.

Kaoru immediately thought back to the Inter-high, where she responded to his ‘bet’ by smacking him repeatedly. He tensed, preparing to slip the haymaker that was assuredly coming his way. He was struck even harder by what actually followed, though. The bag of fertilizer thumped to the ground as Kaoru dropped it in shock.

Kaname burst into tears. She wiped at her eyes, sobbing. “Ah… don’t… don’t look. This is stupid. I hate this…!”

“Kana-chan…”

“I hate this… I hate how I get like this around you! What kind of trainer am I going to be if my boxer makes me cry like a girl?” 

“You _are_ a girl.”

“Shut up, idiot. _You’re_ a girl.”

Kaoru chuckled; Kaname laughed as well, finally smiling. After a moment, she took a breath.

“...Ne, Kaoru?”

“Yes…?” Kaoru said, cautiously. It was odd, hearing his first name on her lips. It was the first time since training camp, where she accidentally sprained his wrist. Kaname didn’t seem to be crying anymore, though the first-year boxer couldn’t quite see her eyes. She was looking at his feet, hiding her face from him.

“I like you. ...Will you go out with me?”

The knee-jerk response was, of course, ‘aren’t we doing that already?’ But it never occured to Kaoru to say that. He saw her - saw how important this was to her. She was making herself vulnerable; laying out her feelings for him. Despite how tough she was, he could see how much the fear of rejection scared her. How much courage it took for her to say this even though he had made his feelings for her completely clear.

And so Kaoru just spoke simply and earnestly.

“Yes--...”

He was cut off suddenly as Kaname, a career infighter, got within his range in an instant. He sighted a flash of rosy cheeks, sparkling green eyes before all he could register was the soft feeling on his lips that was their first kiss.

>>>

**RA: Hey, Haru. Took care of the flower beds you asked me about.**

**HO: Thanks, Ren-kun! The new gardening club is trying hard, but they’re not quite there yet. How was Sports Day?**

**RA: Heh. Eventful…**

**HO: It’s too bad that Mako-chan and I couldn’t make it. I don’t have classes today, but I’ve been in and out of meetings. And well, Mako-chan...**

**RA: Haha, yeah.**

Haru suppressed a little laugh.

“Er, Okumura-san?”

Haru blinked, nearly dropping her phone. She was in a conference room at Okumura Foods, meeting with Takakura and a few other executives. She glanced down at the notes in front of her - a marketing plan for the coffee grown on the fields of thought-to-be dead soil reclaimed using her mother’s technology. 

“Ah, my apologies. This is excellent, Takakura-san. It’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

“Excellent. We’ll move ahead then, Okumura-san.”

The meeting ended; the executives exchanged a few pleasantries with Haru on the way out. The heiress slash college student slumped back into her chair, looking wearily over at Tachibana.

“You know, Rui-san. I think I’d rather sit through a few more stats lectures than go through all these meetings. I wish I could have gone personally to tend to the flowerbeds, or at least spent more time teaching the gardening club at Shujin what to do with them.”

Rui chuckled. Haru’s friend and bodyguard handed her a can of coffee. “Your mother was the same, Haru-sama. Kurenai-sama always preferred to be in the lab, teaching students, or tending to her plants. But she knew that to accomplish the goals she set out, she had to play the game a little bit. Just like you are now.”

Haru nodded. “Thank you, Rui-san. ...Do you think she would have been proud of me?”

“Without a doubt.” Rui replied, easily. “She would have been a little worried about you, though.”

“How so?”

“You’re not leaving a lot of time to act like a girl your age.” Rui said. “I think she would have said she’s happy with how well you’re doing academically and here at the company… But she would have encouraged you to go and have more fun. Maybe take in a movie…”

Haru shook her head. “I’d rather continue working--”

“--Or go and appreciate some _art_.” Rui said, wryly.

Haru felt her face grow hot. Rui was, of course, referring to Yusuke. She had been spending a lot of time with him lately. At first, it was just to be helpful - Yusuke was hopeless with finances and his diet, and once Haru learned about it she wasn’t one to leave a friend high and dry. But she soon found she enjoyed his company. He was so passionate about his art, so eager to throw himself into his work. At a glance, Yusuke could be dismissed as ‘weird’ or ‘impossible to understand’. To Haru though, it was clear what he was about. Every moment of his life was dedicated to finding new and interesting ways to push himself to further heights, which sometimes led to odd decisions and ideas. He was a man utterly devoted to his craft, in a way that others probably found intimidating. 

To Haru, it was anything but intimidating.

But of course, as she learned during the last art exhibition, that passion left little room for anything else.

 _‘First Ren-kun, then Yusuke-kun… Leave it to me to go after emotionally unavailable men.’_ Haru groused. She put that thought aside as she glared at Rui for a moment, before smirking slightly herself.

“That’s fair, Rui-san… You know, you’ve been more talkative lately. And smiling more. And your hair’s _down_ today, I see… I don’t suppose you’re going to go for some _coffee_ after this?”

Rui made a wordless sound as she was caught off-guard by her charge. The two shared a short laugh.

“Anyway. We should head home.” Haru said, standing.

Takakura poked his head in the door. “Ah… My apologies, Okumura-san. There’s one more meeting for the day. It’s a little last minute, but the circumstances are uh… ...unique.”

Haru frowned. “Is that so? Show them in, then.”

Takakura nodded. He stood aside.

Hisahito Sugimura entered the room.

Haru barely controlled the urge to recoil from the man like he was a venomous snake. Even though he was completely different after the Phantom Thieves changed his heart in Mementos, the appearance of the young man made the heiress tense up and recall the months of verbal abuse and vile words she had endured at his hands.

Rui took a step forward to stand firm at Haru’s side. If the woman could have bristled like an angry wolf, she would have.

Hisahito bowed politely.

“Okumura-san… I apologize for my sudden appearance. I would understand if you wanted to throw me out immediately. But please, rest assured. I only request a moment of your time, and this is purely business.”

Haru gestured stiffly at a chair.

“Thank you.” Hisahito took a seat. He sighed. “...Will you help me save my family’s company?”

Haru stared at Hisahito incredulously. “You want me to _what_? After the things your father did?”

The young man raised his hands apologetically. “I’m sorry. I know how it must sound, Okumura-san. Please. Let me explain.”

The younger Hisahito succinctly outlined the situation. After his father, Hisamoto, was imprisoned on a number of charges ranging from embezzlement to conspiracy to murder Masayoshi Shido before the man could take the stand, control over the family’s business interests and company fell onto Hisahito’s shoulders. While Hisamoto considered himself a politician, the Sugimura family was also known for several business holdings in fishing, tourism, and manufacturing. The patriarch’s arrest and conviction alone had destroyed the company’s reputation, and the fines that the company had paid nearly bankrupted them.

“...But I don’t care about my personal fortune anymore.” Hisahito said, shaking his head. “It’s the workers. If things keep going the way they are, the livelihoods of a _lot_ of people are going to disappear.”

Haru sighed. “I’m… somewhat familiar with the situation. Takakura-san has kept me up to date.”

“Really?” Hisahito said, hope crossing his features.

Takakura shook his head. “Don’t look so relieved already, Sugimura-san. It’s part of my job to look at any number of potential mergers and deals as we move forward in rebuilding Okumura Foods. We didn’t press forward with your family’s company for a number of reasons. First, due to the reputation of your father. If we were to do anything, we wouldn’t be able to carry forward the Sugimura name at all. We’d have to completely take apart and restructure your holdings… We didn’t think you or your family would accept it.”

Haru nodded. “So, Sugimura-san. I’m sorry, but--”

“--If I can convince my family and the board, you’d be willing to go ahead?” Sugimura said, suddenly.

“...Do you understand what you’re asking?” Takakura replied. “You’ll have _nothing_ . No legacy. You’ll effectively be retiring the Sugimura name from both the political and business worlds. You’ll be an _employee_.”

“I don’t care!” Hisahito said, with surprising passion. He stood up, his head bowed. “Please. After… After I woke up, I finally saw how hard my father worked our employees. I saw how he was using them like they were disposable, just like how he used me. Now that he’s in prison and I’m in control, I can’t just stand by and do _nothing_. I have to make amends for my father’s actions… Please.”

Takakura shook his head again. “Even if you convince them, the risk to us is--”

“Takakura-san.” Haru said, looking at her former fiance through steepled fingers. His words resonated with her - made her think of the way her own father saw his workers. She too, was working to make amends for the sins of her father. While she still found the man sitting across from her repugnant, she couldn’t help but feel some sympathy - and responsibility. After all, the Phantom Thieves _had_ changed his heart. And now he wanted to make amends, but lacked the ability to do so.

“...Let’s explore our options a little further.”

Sugimura brightened. “Th-thank you, Okumura-san--”

“--As Takakura-san says, Sugimura-san. Don’t look so relieved yet. We’ll see what can be done. My priority is the workers. Any potential deal we strike is off if we see any irregularities.” Haru said, more for her own peace of mind than anything else. She could see that Sugimura was sincere.

Sugimura left with Takakura.

Haru sighed, flopping back in her chair.

Rui frowned. “Are you sure about this, Haru-sama? I know he’s a changed man, but that can’t have been easy for you.”

“Nothing in this world really is, Rui-san. But we have a chance to do some good, here. And we’re the ones who changed his heart… It’s unfair of me to just walk away when he wants my help to atone.” Haru smiled, shaking her head. She glanced at Ren’s text messages, shaking her head. “Eventful indeed. I hope that Ren and the others are enjoying their last year. I’d kill to have high school problems again.”

>>>

“Are you sure you’re okay to do this today, Shiho?” Ann asked, looking at her friend with concern.

“Mmhm! I told you. I missed out last year because of my rehab… I want to get more involved in the cultural festival this year. Especially if I get to work with you.” Shiho replied, smiling.

Ann shook her head. “Not what I meant. I meant are you okay to do this _today_? You were pretty upset about losing to the Blue Team in the last event.”

“Oh, I’m totally over it.”

“You’ve been cracking your knuckles constantly for the entire commute here.” Ann said, smiling wryly. She nodded at Shiho’s hands.

The ravenette winced at being caught - and also at the soreness she was aware of in her fingers, now. While arthritis from cracking knuckles was known to be a myth, it didn’t mean that the joints were meant to be clicked and cracked so often.

“Ah, yeah. Well. I guess Kana-chan just wanted it more.” Shiho said, grinning ruefully. “...It was a lot of fun, even if we lost.”

Ann nodded brightly. They came to a stop outside Leblanc as Ann checked her phone.

“Ah… Fujita-kun and Asami-chan are going to be here soon. I’ll go and get some snacks. Why don’t you head inside and get set up?” Ann said. “Boss closed the cafe to attend Sports Day, so we can work anywhere we want.”

“Sure thing, Blondie.” Shiho said, reaching up and grabbing the hidden spare key off the door frame. “If the cafe’s closed, how are we going to get those two to sample Leblanc’s coffee?” The tentative plan for class 3-B during the cultural festival was to convert their classroom into a jazz cafe, inspired by the video from the talent show at the Amamiya ryokan.

“Ren’s going to come by a little later to make us some coffee.”

Shiho grinned. “Nice. Even though the champ didn’t volunteer to be on the committee, we still get some of the perks!”

“Mmhm!” Ann waved. “See you in a bit!”

Leaving Shiho and Leblanc behind, Ann headed towards the nearby supermarket. She paused before stepping onto the main street that led to the market, instead taking a sudden turn and walking into a narrow back alley. She quickly stepped into a doorway.

Ann waited until she heard quick footsteps pass by. Her time as a Phantom Thief - and as a young, attractive woman in a big city - had given her instincts more than good enough to pick up on such clumsy stalking. She stepped back into the alley, glaring at the back of someone wearing a Shujin blazer, with the matching bag slung over his shoulder, as well as a case for a musical instrument.

“Alright asshole, you have three seconds to tell me why the hell you’ve been following me since leaving Shujin!” Ann shouted, pointing her finger.

The guy looked over his shoulder - revealing the handsome face of Ryoichi Kurosawa. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black, and wide with surprise. He sported classy, rimless glasses. He turned completely to face Ann, flashing a smile that was charming and disarming. He probably had great success with it among the girls at school.

“Ah… Ann-chan, right?” He said smoothly, in an overly-familiar way. He continued grinning, taking a step towards Ann. “I’m glad I ran into you. I just need to--!!”

Ann responded with a sharp flicker jab, almost a picture-perfect replication of Ren’s favored technique. She intentionally stopped short, but the speed and shock of the move led to the boy falling on his butt in the alleyway.

“I told you that you had three seconds to _talk_ , creep! Not three seconds to get close to me!”

“Shit! Ann-- I mean, Takamaki-san! Please stop! I go to your school, I’m Ryoichi Kurosawa and--”

“--And you’re used to every girl in school getting starry-eyed at your little smile, right?” Ann rolled her eyes, but kept her hands up defensively. After Kamoshida and the year that they all had, she wasn’t going to be victimized ever again. “You know who my boyfriend is, right? If you think _your_ smile is dangerous, his is _deadly_. So forget the charm and tell me what you’re doing.”

Kurosawa stood slowly, keeping his hands up as he took a respectful step back. “L-look. Sorry. I just want to talk. It’s about the cultural festival…”

>>>

Ren headed home from the Yongen-jaya train station. He glanced at his phone.

_‘Just a little late…’_

He smiled to himself. It was worth it though, to make sure Kaname and Kaoru were doing okay. And really, he wasn’t playing a huge role in the cultural festival - he had enough on his plate between the boxing team, entrance exams, and his part-time gig at Crossroads. All Ann and Shiho needed him to do was to make some coffee for the other two class reps to sample for the proposed ‘jazz cafe’ that their class was going to do for the cultural festival.

He rounded the corner, pausing outside the front window of Leblanc as he saw Ann sitting at a booth with three of their classmates - Shiho, Asami Sakurai, and Itsuki Fujita. Ren blinked in surprise - joining them was Ryoichi Kurosawa, the boy Ann had pointed out to him on the field earlier in the day. From this distance, it really was clear that the guy was good looking. Sakurai was clearly fawning over the boy; Fujita looked annoyed. Shiho, as usual, looked amused.

And Ann…

Ann was smiling and laughing. Her eyes sparkled; a faint blush stained the pale skin of her cheeks as she spoke with Kurosawa. Certainly, Ann had acted a bit at club signups to draw a little more interest for the boxing team, but that was like her modeling jobs - it was for a purpose, and ultimately meant nothing. Ren wasn’t _really_ bothered by things like that, though it was occasionally fun for the two of them to pretend. This… this was different. An unfamiliar feeling rippled through Ren - something he hadn’t really had to address since Yusuke’s interest in Ann last year at the start of the Madarame case.

At that time, while Ren felt jealous, they weren’t officially dating yet - he didn’t really have any right to complain. Now, though. _This_ jealousy was honed by a good year and a half of loving this girl with every fiber of his young, passionate heart.

Ren shoved the door open. He smiled placidly at everyone, waving. “Hey. Sorry I’m late.”

Ann perked up, smiling back. “Hey, Wildcard! ...Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no. Not at all.” Ren continued to smile, nodding to his classmates. “Why don’t the _four_ of you head upstairs? Boss closed the shop today, but it looks like he cleaned up already. I’ll still make some coffee, though.”

Ann, Shiho, and the other two from class 3-B stood up, heading up the stairs.

Kurosawa got to his feet as well, flashing a friendly smile at Ren. “Ah! Amamiya. I’m--”

“Sorry. Kurosawa, right? Private function. Leblanc’s closed.” Ren replied, his smile an unchanging mask. He gripped the strap of his bag a little harder than usual.

Ann paused at the foot of the steps. “Actually, Ren. He’s here because--”

“So you’ll just have to come back some other time, Kurosawa.” Ren said.

Kurosawa paused - it seemed that he was hesitant to leave. He flashed a charming smile in the direction of Ann and Ren. “Well, I don’t want to be a bother. But I heard the coffee here was fantastic. Maybe just a cup? I can wait down here until you’re done. I really need to speak with--”

“We’re out.” Ren said, his smile finally fading.

Kurosawa and Ann both looked behind the bar at the canisters upon canisters of coffee beans behind the counter.

“...You’re out of coffee?”

“Yes.” Ren said, simply. He herded Kurosawa to the front of Leblanc, practically shoving him out the door. “So sorry. Come back some other time.”

He locked the door behind him.

Ann stared at him from the steps. “Are you _sure_ nothing’s wrong, Wildcard?”

“Don’t you have a meeting to start, Ann? I’ll bring up the coffee for Sakurai-san and Fujita to try.”

“The coffee you’re out of.”

“The same.”

>>>

The cultural festival meeting went smoothly - Asami and Fujita were both quite taken by the coffee, and the four of them quickly made plans while Ren left to do some chores downstairs in the cafe.

It was pretty obvious to Ann that something was bothering Ren. This reminded her a little of last year, particularly before the start of their relationship when he was still trying to play his thoughts and emotions close to the vest. Ann closed the front door behind Shiho and their two classmates, tentatively taking a seat at the bar while Ren polished a few glasses that clearly didn’t need polishing. There was something else vaguely familiar about the way he was standing, the set of his shoulders.

“So. What was so funny?” He asked, breaking the silence.

“Sorry, what?” Ann furrowed her brow in confusion. The last thing Ren had heard from the group was when he came back upstairs briefly to retrieve coffee mugs, and they were just discussing some mundane details about the festival, nothing funny or interesting.

“Kurosawa. You seemed really into what he was saying.” Ren continued in a carefully neutral voice, his back to Ann.

“Kurosawa…? Not really…” Ann mumbled, still confused.

“Fine. Whatever. It doesn’t have anything to do with _me_ , anyway.”

“Actually, it does-- Oh my _God_ !” Ann gasped, suddenly putting it together. Last year, after she sprained her ankle and he made her dinner, he had said almost the exact same thing, with regards to modeling for _Yusuke_ . “You’re _jealous!_ You’re _actually_ jealous!”

Ren whirled, putting the glass tumbler down on the counter with a hard - _clunk_ -.

“Of course I am! Why the hell wouldn’t I be?! I told you before, I don’t give a _damn_ that other guys look at you. I care how _you_ look at--...Why are you laughing?”

Ann giggled, her hands over her mouth. “I’m giggling because I was talking about _you_ when I looked like that, Wildcard. Practically the entire conversation was about _you_.”

“That’s pretty hard to believe.” Ren mumbled. “...Can you stop laughing?”

“I can’t. You’re _way_ too cute right now.” Ann grinned. She leaned forward in her seat at the bar, poking at Ren’s cheeks. “Your cheeks are all red from embarrassment.”

Ren swatted at Ann’s hand. “Hmph.”

“And now you’re _pouting_!” Ann laughed.

“Songbird…” Ren’s tone was slightly warning. Ann chose to ignore it.

“And your eyes are _burning_ with jealousy--Mmph!”

Ren leaned in, meeting her lips over the bar. His hand cupped the back of her head, trapping her as he took his sweet time in a deep, indulgent kiss.

Ann let out a long, slow breath, their foreheads still touching. She smiled faintly. Her own face burned now. “...Ah. Wildcard. I’m sorry.”

Ren shook his head, kissing her again. “Don’t be. I’m the stupid one, here. I trust you more than I trust myself, so I shouldn’t have really felt that way…”

“Mm-mm. I don’t think so. I think it’s a little natural, isn’t it? I get a little like that too, sometimes. You’re _way_ cattier, though.”

“Not my fault. My roommate is a cat.”

“Don’t blame Mona for your bad behavior, love. Or if you’re insistent, I’ll start disciplining you with a spray bottle filled with water.”

“Hiss.” Ren replied, smiling. He sighed, straightening. “I’m glad we sort these things out as quickly as we do. It’s hard to believe Kurosawa wasn’t putting the moves on you, though. He’s got a reputation.”

Ann shrugged. “It was almost insulting how he wasn’t. As for sorting these conflicts out fast, it helps to have a boyfriend who’s memorized every major jealousy slash rival arc in every hit romance manga over the past ten years.” Ann said. “From _Kana-chan’_ s manga, of course.”

“Come on. I don’t use that excuse anymore. I came clean, remember?”

Ann grinned. “I miss the gag a little. Anyway, shouldn’t we get going? My parents are expecting us both for dinner.”

“Sure thing, Songbird.” The bell over the door rang as it was pushed open. Ren started speaking without looking up. “Ah, sorry. The cafe’s closed today--...”

Kurosawa stood there, still with his instrument case. His eyes were fixed on Ann, who still sat across from Ren. He stepped forward, speaking directly, no attempt at ingratiating charm. “I’m sorry - I just need a moment. Being subtle obviously was a bad idea.”

Ren raised an eyebrow at Ann. “You _sure_ he wasn’t, now?”

“Takamaki-san. I have to have you--” Kurosawa practically shouted.

Ann nearly fell out of her chair in shock. “Excuse me?!”

Ren bristled. He leaned forward on the bar, glaring at Kurosawa. “Look buddy, I’m standing _right_ here. Are you really going to hit on my girlfriend in front of--”

“--Amamiya! I have to have you, too! In fact, it would be better if I had both of you at the same time.” 

Ren’s jaw dropped. He had no words for that. No one did.

Silence reigned in the little cafe.

“...Well, damn. I’m _really_ glad I forgot my notebook, now.” Shiho said, standing at the door.

>>>

It turned out he had to have them as _performers_.

Everything was quickly clarified over a few cups of coffee as the four students sat at a booth - Shiho, Ren, and Ann on the benches, and Ryoichi Kurosawa sitting on a chair at the end. It turned out that Kurosawa’s interest in the couple started from the summer, with the video of Ren and Ann performing in the talent show over the summer. Kurosawa was part of the school’s band, but his actual love was jazz - in fact, during first year he had formed a club with a few of his friends, and the group had actually managed to gain some notoriety at competitions.

Until Kamoshida started exerting his influence over the school. Apparently, the man’s ego extended beyond athletics. It wasn’t enough for him to have the volleyball club be the most important _sport_ at Shujin - he didn’t tolerate _any_ competition for attention and funding. So, the jazz club lost its practice room… and then when their faculty advisor advocated for them, they lost their advisor as well. And finally, several of their members, himself included, lost their music program recommendations.

“...And by the time the dirtbag confessed to everything, the damage was done.” Ryoichi said, pushing his glasses up with a sigh. “The school’s priority has been getting its sporting clubs back together, and that makes sense. They took the most damage. But as for jazz… Even in the best of times, the school’s focus has been on classical band. Jazz is…”

“...Still considered a little uncouth by some, isn’t it?” Ren said, sympathetically. “We heard some of the same stuff about boxing until we started winning. Kawakami-sensei told me that after the Inter-high, some of the same people grumbling about us wanted to act like they were on our side the entire time.”

Shiho grumbled darkly. “You’d think after everything, that sort of bullshit wouldn’t happen.”

Ann frowned. “At the end of the day, people who were jerks before Kamoshida’s confession are still going to be jerks after. Like Yamauchi, the guy who tried to manipulate the track team.”

“You all understand, then. It’s a backwards attitude, but right now Shujin’s trying to do whatever it can to _not_ rock the boat, I guess.” Ryoichi said. “But that’s where you and Takamaki-san come in, Amamiya. This year for the end-of-festival party, there’s an open spot for us to perform. Our former advisor managed to grab it for us, but we could really use a pianist and vocalist. If we can knock it out of the park…”

“Right. The festival’s open to the public… I’ve already heard some of the local media are going to be there to do a special on how Shujin’s ‘recovered’.” Ren said. “If they start asking why the talented jazz club isn’t even an official club, and why they’re not getting support…”

“...Then we’ll get support.” Ryoichi nodded. “Might even have a shot at the music programs we were gunning for again.”

Ren shook his head. “I don’t understand something though, Kurosawa. Ann and I just do this for fun. We’re not _terrible_ , but we can’t hold a candle next to people who want to do this for a career. Why us?”

“I can write arrangements that’ll help with that. And we’ll practice.” The musician said. He paused, looking a little sheepish. “...There’s one more reason, actually. To be blunt, I want to capitalize off your fame. The two of you are pretty well-known _outside_ of Shujin as well, these days. Particularly Takamaki-san. It’s a bit of a cheap trick to draw more attention, I’ll admit.”

Ren frowned thoughtfully. “It would be hard, Kurosawa. Both Ann and I are pretty busy.”

Ryoichi nodded. “I get that. My band is willing to work around your schedule. If you can convince the owner of the bar that I heard you part-time at, we can even just use your shifts as practice. We’d provide a little more variety to the music, and she wouldn’t have to pay us.”

“I’m sure Lala-chan would be alright with it, Wildcard.” Ann said.

“Then, fine. We’ll give it a try for awhile. Nationals take priority for me, though. And I’m sure Ann feels the same way about modeling.” Ren glanced at the time. “We should get going, Kurosawa. Ann and I are going to be late.”

They exchanged contact numbers while Shiho grabbed her notebook from upstairs. As they left, Ren locked up and looked over at the musician.

“I have to apologize, Kurosawa. I was pretty rude earlier because I thought you were making a move on Ann.”

Kurosawa shook his head, with a smile that even Ren had to admit was charming. He nodded at Ann. “You’re stunning, Takamaki-san.” He said, with a startling forwardness. “But not my type.”

Shiho chuckled. “That’s gotta be a shot to the ego there, Blondie.” She idly looked through the photos from Sports Day on her phone. “So what is the type of one of the famous ‘three Princes’ of Shujin?”

Kurosawa shrugged. “Well, if I had to say… I think someone like you, Suzui-san.”

Shiho continued browsing through pictures as she walked. “Oh. Sure.”

Ren blinked. His eyes widened. “Er… Shiho. I think he’s…”

Ann shook her head. “Wait for it…”

Shiho stopped walking. She whirled, red faced and mouth agape, staring at Kurosawa. “Wait. Wait wait wait. You mean the _athletic_ type or something, right? Or black-haired girls, right? Or I don’t know, photo trolls, right?!”

Kurosawa smiled. The light caught his eyes, highlighting warm hues within the dark brown. 

“No, Suzui-san. I mean _you_. What are you doing after this? How about a date?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a point to at least some of this, I assure you. Need to plant some seeds for the direction that Ren's life will take post-high school.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lead up to Nationals; Makoto learns about Shiho's new admirer. Ann's parents unexpectedly show up one morning after a night where Ren and Ann have a 'sleep over'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swarmer - A 'pressure' type of boxing, where the fighter crowds/swarms his opponent. Highly entertaining, aggressive style.
> 
> Boxer-Puncher - Something between a pure out-boxer and a brawler/swarmer. 
> 
> JBC - Japanese Boxing Commission

September 30, 2017 

“Extra-hot mocha for Suzuki!” Haru chimed, placing the drink on the counter of Leblanc.

The Shujin student smiled shakily at Haru, who beamed back at him with her well-practiced retail smile (which was one part more friendly and one part less professionally cold than her business meeting smile). She had a green apron tied on, a match to the one Ren wore when he was on shift. She folded her hands in front of her.

“Please enjoy it, Suzuki-kun!” Haru said to the third-year.

“Er… Y-yes. I will. Uh… Okumura-senpai… Uhm…” Suzuki mumbled, looking back at his friends for encouragement. They stood outside the store window, grinning. “You… you know what else is extra-hot?”

“What’s that?” Haru asked, with a perfectly placid politeness.

“Er.. ...you?” Suzuki stammered.

Haru showed no visible reaction to his words other than switching to her business meeting smile. Still a smile, but noticeably less friendly. “That’s nice. See you again next time?”

“R-right…” Suzuki mumbled, darting out the door. He and his friends left immediately; his friends laughing and poking at the teen’s shoulders.

Shiho, seated at a booth with Ann, burst out laughing. “You’re a _saint_ to let him off with a cold smile, Haruru. That line was terrible.”

Haru shrugged. “It took him weeks to muster up the courage for it. It would have been cruel to make fun of him.” She giggled. “No matter how corny that was.”

Ann shook her head. “I don’t think even Ren could have pulled that one off. He barely pulls off the one about liking a ‘sweet blonde’ in terms of coffee roasts.”

Shiho grinned. “Really, Blondie? He _barely_ pulls it off? That’s _never_ worked on you?”

Ann turned a little pink. “Oh, shut up. His voice is… Well. You know.”

Haru laughed. She went into the kitchen, plating a serving of curry. She placed it at the separate table that Yusuke sat at, at a safe distance away from his sketchbook. There was one incident when he started accompanying her to Leblanc where he became so absorbed in his work that he had actually rested his elbow in his meal, only noticing when the curry soaked through the fabric. Yusuke mumbled his thanks as he continued sketching madly, apparently caught up in another inspiration for a painting. Lately, the artist was incredibly productive.

Haru took a seat across from her friends. Given that the four of them were the only ones in Leblanc at the moment, there wasn’t really any reason for her to be behind the bar.

Shiho glanced over Haru’s shoulder at Yusuke, frowning slightly. She spoke loudly enough for him to hear. “Must be nice to actually get some _attention_ from a _boy_ , though.”

Haru ‘eeped’; she waved a hand sharply at Shiho as she whispered harshly. While Yusuke was _very_ absorbed in his work, he had a strange tendency to recall parts of the ambient conversation quite clearly. “It’s _fine_ , Shiho-chan! Really. I’m too busy with my classes and the business, and Yusuke-kun’s been inspired lately. Even if it was mutual interest, neither of us have the time.”

Haru had confided in her friends about her growing interest in Yusuke. She was quick to tell them that she wasn’t going to actively pursue this, though - not with so much for _both_ of them to worry about at this time.

Shiho sighed, taking another tactic. “You’re making me sad, Haru. I thought university was supposed to be fun.”

Ann raised her eyebrow at her bestie. “You’re one to talk, Shiho. It’s not like you’ve been lacking your own opportunities. How are you doing on Kurosawa’s daily confessions?”

“What’s this?” Haru asked. She stared in shock as Shiho, the seemingly shameless troll of the Phantom Thieves family, actually _blushed_. “...Oh my.”

“It’s _nothing_.” Shiho said, quickly.

Ann grinned. “Totally not nothing. One of the best-looking boys at school asked Shiho out after Sports Day. She stammered out a ‘no thanks’, but he hasn’t given up. He comes by every day to ask Shiho out… In terms of the delivery… Well. Imagine the opposite of Suzuki. Charming and eloquent. Shujin’s a-buzz.”

“He’s a total playboy.” Shiho scoffed. “There’s no way I’d go out with a guy like that.”

Ann shook her head. “I checked around. He goes on a lot of dates, but it looks like it’s because he’s ridiculously _kind._ He doesn’t like turning people down. The girls are the one that ask _him_ \--”

“So he’s weak-willed!” Shiho snapped. “I wouldn’t want to date a pushover either.”

“--And apparently, he never _does_ anything with them, even if they’re trying to make it really easy.” Ann continued. “He doesn’t just go along with everything. He’s nice, but he friendzones everyone who asks him out.”

“So he’s not even interested, then!”

“Scuttlebutt is that you’re the first girl he’s actually asked out.” Ann grinned.

Shiho grumbled.

Haru frowned. “I’m confused, Shiho-chan. He’s a playboy who doesn’t lead girls on, has no willpower, but resists all attempts to trip him into bed…?”

“Yes! No!” Shiho said. She shook her head, grumbling. “I reject him every day, anyway. He just won’t give up.”

Haru nodded slowly. “I see…” She glanced at Ann. “Hm. So, how good looking _is_ he, anyway?”

Ann shrugged. “On a scale from Ushimaru to Ren, I’d rate him a solid Watanabe--”

Shiho’s palms slapped the wood of the table. “Oh, come _on_ ! Watanabe’s not bad, but he’s just average! Kurosawa’s eye-candy potential is at _least_ as high as Da Vinci and the Champ--...” Shiho trailed off at Haru and Ann’s grins, understanding she had been fully caught in the trap. She flopped back against the padded bench, crossing her arms. “God damn it. How the hell do I keep forgetting how shrewd you are, Haru?”

Haru grinned. “It’s so cute how you’re the type who’s all offense and no defense, Shiho-chan.”

“Futaba would say that she’s pretty severely min-maxed.” Ann said. “Good thing Makoto doesn’t know.”

Shiho sighed. “I know, right? She’s coming though, isn’t she?”

“Mmhm. She said she’d come help us study. She’s bringing Ryuji, too.” Ann said. “...Oh! There they are. ...And they’re fighting.”

“Serious fight or cute fight?” Shiho asked, curious.

“Mmm… Cute fight. Makoto just punched Ryuji’s arm, and he’s pretending that it hurt.” Ann said, laughing. “And Ryuji’s grinning with his dopey ‘I’m in love’ grin.”

The door swung open.

“Seriously, Makoto?! How can you like _Lethal Weapon_ more than _Die Hard_?!”

“ _Lethal Weapon_ is the quintessential buddy-cop movie!” Makoto nearly shouted, pointing a finger at Ryuji. “The story was incredible, and Riggs actually has a _reason_ to be a reckless loose cannon! He has a backstory that explains his actions!”

“Fine. But the action in _Die Hard_ is _way_ better. And John McClane didn’t have to be an ex-Navy Seal to kick terrorist butt.” Ryuji retorted. He sighed, shaking his head, smiling at their friends. “Agree to disagree? Everyone’s here, Makoto.”

“ _Never_. We’re settling this later.” Makoto replied, flashing a fierce smile at her boyfriend. The smile vanished as she sat down, though. She sat down beside Haru, already all business as she took out her laptop and notebook to help the three highschoolers present study.

“Hey, guys! And thanks for agreeing to help us again. Both you and Haru, Makoto” Ann said.

“Where’s RenRen?” Ryuji asked, sitting down at the end of the table. He started taking his own books out.

“He’s at Shinoda’s.” Ann said. “He studied this morning already, and Kana-chan wants him to spar against someone who’s not from the team for his final tune-up before Nationals.”

“Hm. You’re not getting lonely, Blondie? It seems like it’s nothing but boxing and studying for him, and nothing but modeling and studying for you.” Shiho asked. “And your folks have been home a lot lately.”

Ann shook her head. “No, I still get to see him. At school, and when we get together to practice with Kurosawa and his band for the Cultural Festival.”

“Who’s Kurosawa?” Makoto asked. She was out of the loop, largely at Shiho’s behest.

Shiho quickly replied. “Just some guy that Blondie and the Champ are helping out.” She cast a quick glance at her friends, with an expression that could only be described as ‘pleading for mercy’.

Haru smiled pleasantly. “That’s right. Ann-chan and Ren-kun are going to be performing with the jazz club.”

Ryuji nodded, not wanting to be kicked in the shin under the table. “That’s right.”

Shiho sighed. Apparently, she had earned a stay in her execution.

Or so she thought.

“Kurosawa… that name sounds familiar.” Yusuke said, standing up and walking to the kitchen. He put his plate down in the sink, looking thoughtful. “Weren’t you just talking about him, Shiho? In fact…”

“Da Vinci, _no!”_ Shiho shouted. She was too far away to clamp a hand over his mouth, though.

Yusuke smacked his fist into his palm, perking up as he recalled. “Ah, right! He’s the boy from your school whom you consider to be as good-looking as Ren. And he keeps asking you out every day! Though, I must admit. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want Makoto to know. Aren’t you two friends?”

Shiho turned pale. Her eyes shot over to Makoto as she recalled every single incident of teasing and manipulation she had directed at Makoto and Ryuji. From Puckishly good-natured things like stealing her cellphone strap in Hawaii to orchestrate the situation that would lead to Ryuji recognizing his feelings for Makoto, to not-so-good-natured things like the condom incident the night before Valentine’s Day, and the _other_ incident on Valentine’s Day proper.

In that instant, Shiho could see that Makoto recalled all of these too.

Makoto’s smile didn’t _quite_ reach her eyes.

“Oh, yes. We’re friends.” Makoto said, calmly. “Such. Good. Friends.”

>>>

“Renpai! Hey! Wake up!” Kaname shouted.

Ren blinked, sitting on the bench at Shinoda’s Boxing Gym. He was just about to finish wrapping his hands, when he came to an abrupt stop.

“Ah, sorry Kana-chan.” Ren said, fixing the end of the strap to the velcro pad.

“Are you alright? You just spaced out there.” Kaoru said. Ren’s kouhai had also accompanied Ren and Kaname to Shinoda’s for this special training session.

Ren shook his head. “I’m fine. For some reason, I thought I heard Shiho screaming in terror.” He shivered slightly, wondering what could possibly make the legendary troll afraid.

“You’re shivering. Better get warmed up, Renpai.” Kaname said. “And don’t waste time thinking of useless things like that. Coach Shinoda is depending on us too, remember?”

Ren nodded. “Roger, Coach.”

He stood up, grabbing a skipping rope. He started warming up for the sparring match. This was not only his last tune-up before Nationals, but also a favor for Coach Shinoda and one of his pro boxers in his own match prep. Apparently, Ren’s style and build roughly reflected the next opponent of welterweight hopeful Hiroyuki Shirai. Ren glanced over at the other side of the gym where the first-year pro boxer was also warming up. He sported a stylish undercut hairstyle with the top slicked back into something like a pompadour; it was streaked with dark red highlights. It reflected the fighter’s personality and boxing style quite well.

‘Yuusha’ Shirai was an entertainer, through and through. He dazzled with his footwork and lightning-fast counterpunches. Even his shadow boxing brought a smile to Ren’s face. The man was a polar opposite from the austere and enigmatic Yamanaka.

Shirai caught Ren’s eye. He stopped shadowing, waving enthusiastically at the teenager. “Hey! Hey, Miya-kun! Thanks for coming!— ouch!”

Shinoda immediately chopped the back of his head, sighing. “Stop screwing around, Hiro. Hurry and finish warming up. You can make friends after.”

“Haaaaai.” Shirai said, grinning.

Kaoru laughed, smiling at Kaname. “I thought a pro would be more intimidating. Shirai-san seems like a really nice guy.”

Kaname shook her head. “Don’t let that fool you, Iwai. His pro record’s already 4-0 and his next fight is the East Japan Rookie King Semi-Finals. Shirai’s the real deal.”

Ren strapped on his headgear before getting into the ring. He was taken slightly aback when Shirai did the same thing. Even if Ren was a top-tier highschool boxer, he was still a _highschool_ boxer sparring against a professional. Shirai caught Ren’s look.

“I’ve seen some of your videos, Miya-kun. I’d rather not take a chopping right directly to the noggin before my fight.” Shirai laughed, with a sheepish smile.

Ren just nodded awkwardly, touching gloves with the pro before heading back to his corner. It _was_ unusual. Most pro boxers had a bit more of an edge and swagger to them. Shirai seemed to be perpetually friendly, a hint of a smile on his face even as the bell rang and they approached each other from their corners.

 _‘Shirai’s a career counter-puncher. In particular the right-cross counter.’_ Ren thought back to the videos he’d watched of Shirai as he took his preferred stance. Shirai was a pro, but it wasn’t hard to think of a strategy - as a counter-puncher himself, he simply did what he hated dealing with.

Ren took the initiative, his hands snapping out in a sharp 1-2 combination. Shirai parried the jab and slipped the straight, his body already in motion for a beautifully timed cross-counter.

A third punch - a jab made off-rhythm by an extra heartbeat of delay after his straight - grazed Shirai’s face, forcing him to abort his counter to slip the jab. His brilliant footwork prevented Ren from taking advantage of the change; the welterweight jogged his shoulders, taking his distance opposite the highschool boxer.

“Oh hoh!” Shirai grinned. “Someone’s been taught well.”

Ren returned the grin. Shirai’s energy was infectious. He struck out with several more jabs at the pro’s chest in the textbook method prescribed to nail down a counter-puncher - such straightforward, quick blows at his body were impossible to slip and counter, forcing Shirai to raise his gloves to block. Ren immediately poured on the pressure once his slippery opponent was nailed down. Sharp orthodox jabs stabbed into Shirai’s guard, along with flicker jabs that came at unusual angles. Overhand chopping rights pounded in at the pro’s head, forcing more blocks.

Shinoda, Kaoru, and Kaname stood at a neutral corner, watching the sparring match. The veteran coach with a walrus-like moustache and perpetually squinty (but somehow kindly) eyes grunted, glancing at Kaname. “What do you think, Kana-chan?”

Kaname frowned thoughtfully. “It _looks_ like Renpai’s completely taken the pace. But something’s wrong. Shirai doesn’t look bothered in the slightest…”

“Good observation.” Shinoda replied. “Hiro’s not letting the kid get a single clean hit in. But Ren’s not so green as to not notice that. He’s pouring on the pressure, but he isn’t wasting his energy.”

Kaoru nodded enthusiastically, clearly starstruck. “Yeah! Senpai’s looking really good today! Even if Shirai-san’s laying out a trap, Amamiya-senpai’s probably expecting it.”

Shinoda couldn’t hold back his grin. “And Hiro probably expects Ren to expect it.”

“Expects him to expect it--...” Kaname blinked. Her eyes widened in alarm; she knew exactly what Ren’s next move would be. Her concern for her boxer overrode her desire for him to take this as a learning experience. “...Shit! Renpai! Don’t!”

Ren wasn’t listening. Even if he was, he was already committed to his next move. He let the pressure abate for a moment, letting Shirai reset his stance. He targeted the boxer’s face with another 1-2-1 combination, using precisely the same timing as his opening salvo. A sharp left that was parried. A hard straight that was slipped. And then a third jab, at the _slightly_ off-rhythm pace.

As Ren predicted, the pro had already caught the timing of the off-rhythm jab. Shirai performed a perfect headslip to the inside of Ren’s last left while stepping in. His devastating right-cross counter careened in towards Ren’s face over the highschooler’s left arm, still extended from his jab. But suddenly, in the space of half a heartbeat, Ren bent his left elbow, shoving the counter-punch out of the way - leaving Shirai wide open, with the weight of his body still lunging into Ren’s space.

Almost simultaneously with the bend of his left elbow, Ren lowered his right guard and pivoted, his muscle and sinew snapping around like a coiled spring. He unleashed a short right uppercut at Shirai’s unprotected chin. It would be a thunderous blow, utilizing the entire kinetic chain from his feet to his fist.

 _If_ it connected.

A resonating smack of glove against headgear echoed through the repurposed warehouse.

In the next moment, Shirai was gently helping Ren to the canvas floor, laying the dazed highschool boxer on his back.

“Ah! Miya-kun! I’m sorry! I got a little too fired up there, didn’t I?” Shirai said, rubbing the back of his neck with a gloved hand.

Ren blinked, staring up at the lights above the ring. “...Er… ...what…?” He winced, trying to sit up.

Shinoda practically materialized in the ring beside Shirai and Ren. The stocky man could move surprisingly fast. He helped Ren take off his headgear and gloves before slapping a cold compress across the young boxer’s forehead.

“Take your time, son. We’ll review what happened when you stop seeing stars.”

Kaoru stared in mute shock, his mouth wide open. “Wh… what happened?! I couldn’t even _see_ that, Kana-chan! I saw the counter, and then senpai did _something_ to parry it, and then an upper…? Why did he get knocked down?!”

“That’s Coach Takeda, Iwai. We’re at practice.” Kaname replied automatically, numbly. She had seen it, of course. It was _incredible_ . Ren had baited out the cross-counter perfectly, and then used his left _elbow_ of all things to parry the punch, leaving Shirai wide-open for a short right uppercut to counter the cross-counter.

But somehow, Shirai had _countered the counter to the counter_. The pro welterweight had reacted fast enough to nail Ren with a left hook, even though the more circular punch had a longer route to take to its target than Ren’s straightforward short uppercut. Shirai was incredibly fast.

Kaname shook her head as she realized. That was wrong. One of Ren’s greatest assets was his speed, and he was clearly a match for Shirai in that department. It would have been impossible for Shirai to land that counter cleanly if he had simply reacted to the short uppercut. The diminutive trainer felt a chill as she realized the truth: Shirai had started moving for the left hook _before_ Ren started the movement for his right uppercut. Shirai somehow knew that Ren’s intended knockout blow was coming.

Ren sighed, now on his feet. He shook hands with Shirai and left the ring, standing in front of Kaname.

Kaoru took Ren’s gloves and headgear for him, staring back and forth at Ren and Shirai with wide eyes. “Er… ...Nice fight, senpai. That… what happened?”

Shirai grinned, waving a hand. “Just a lucky punch, Kao-kun.”

Kaname shook her head. “No. That’s not it at all. He was dancing in the palm of your hand from the start, wasn’t he?”

Ren nodded, frowning as he tried to remember what happened. “That was a left hook counter, wasn’t it, Shirai-san? That wasn’t luck.”

Shirai smiled. “Heh. I’ve been found out.” He sighed, looking at Ren. “...I like you, Miya-kun. It’s why I both want to tell you this and don’t want to tell you this.”

“Please.” Ren said.

Shirai glanced at Shinoda, who was technically a trainer for both of the boxers. The man just nodded, gesturing for Shirai to continue.

“Let’s sit, Miya-kun, Kao-kun, Kana-chan. Let’s talk about what’s wrong with your boxing.”

>>>

Back at Leblanc, Yusuke and Haru left earlier - Yusuke to work on one of his ongoing projects, and Haru to a business meeting - leaving Shiho, Ann, Ryuji, and Makoto alone to study. Shiho was trying to read her notes from Chouno-sensei’s class. She had been stuck on the same page for what felt like hours; her mind kept drifting back to Makoto’s eerie smile.

_‘Oh, yes. We’re friends. Such. Good. Friends.’_

But after that, it was business as usual. Makoto worked on her own assignments and papers when the rest of them didn’t need help. It was as if what Yusuke said _never_ happened. Shiho glanced over at the brunette again. Her brow was furrowed slightly, her index finger tapped her pale cheek as her chin rested in her palm, thinking on what to write next.

 _‘She’s planning something.’_ Shiho thought. _‘She’s got to be planning something. It’s what I would do. She probably knows that I know she’s planning something. But then that means I know that she knows that I know._ **_No one_ ** _catches Shi-chan off-guard, even if they’re a criminal mastermind level super-genius with a photographic memory oh God why did I do the thing on Valentine’s Day even though it was hilarious she’s going to_ **_kill_ ** _me--’_

“Shiho?”

“Uwah!?”

Ann jumped. “Sheesh! Sorry! So no snacks for you, then. Ryuji and I were going to step out to get some stuff from the supermarket, remember? We owe you and Makoto for the last time.”

“Oh. Uh, whatever’s fine.” Shiho mumbled.

Ryuji grinned, standing. “I’ll text you if they’re out of ‘whatever’.”

Shiho wasn’t in a tilted enough state to not roll her eyes at that. She chucked an eraser at Ryuji, who deftly caught it and placed it back on the table. “Lame. Even for you, RyuRyu.”

“Back in a bit!”

The bell over the door chimed as the two blondes left Leblanc.

Shiho looked anxiously over at Makoto. The university student paid absolutely no notice to Shiho, instead smiling as something occurred to her and furiously typing. It definitely looked like she was in the zone and making rapid progress on her paper. Shiho sighed, going back to trying to read her notes.

“Shiho?”

Shiho jumped at the sudden sound of Makoto’s voice. “Y-y-yes?!”

“You’ve been working on that page for a while, haven’t you? Do you need some help?” Makoto asked, her expression the perfect picture of benign concern.

 _Too_ perfect.

“I’m fine! Totally fine. Yep. All caught up on Hamlet.”

Makoto frowned, peering over at Shiho’s notebook. “Your notes are on Alexandre Dumas, actually. Specifically, the _Count of Monte Cristo_.”

“Oh. Right. Uh…”

“Chouno-sensei is quite the romantic, so you shouldn’t be surprised to find questions about this one on the exam.” Makoto said. “She tends to get fairly enthusiastic about the classics, particularly stories about high adventure, romance, and justice.”

“Right.” Shiho nodded, relieved.

“...Though in this case, _Monte Cristo_ is more about _revenge_ rather than justice.” Makoto said, absently.

Shiho gulped, watching Makoto. The former student council president continued speaking casually.

“It’s a wonderfully well-crafted story, even though it was originally published as a serial. The hero, Edmond Dantes, is betrayed and sent to prison by a trusted friend. Then, after Dantes escapes, he spends the next several years carefully orchestrating an elaborate revenge.” Makoto said, tapping away at her keyboard.

“You… you don’t say.” Shiho said. She had read the story of course, but hearing it so casually from Makoto right now created an interesting feeling in the pit of Shiho’s stomach. Somewhere between ‘oh shit’ and ‘fuck’.

“Mmhm. It sounds simple, but Dumas explores several themes. Hope, justice, vengeance, and also, whether the ends justify the means.”

“The means…?” Shiho asked, her mouth starting to feel like she had been chewing on cotton balls.

“Oh, yes. Dantes’ revenge is a true _reckoning_. There are drastic consequences for both the innocent and the guilty.”

“...”

Makoto nodded, smiling. “Mmhm. It’s quite incredible. Dantes leaves a swath of devastation in his quest for vengeance, moving forward regardless of the collateral damage he causes. He’s utterly resolved and will stand at nothing to take his revenge, no matter how much death and destruction--”

“What are you planning?!” Shiho shouted, slamming her palms on the table as she stood. “For the love of all that’s holy, just _tell me_!”

Makoto raised a fine eyebrow slowly. “...What in the _world_ has gotten into you, Shiho?”

Shiho sat down slowly. “You… you mean you’re _not_ planning to wreak a terrible and final vengeance on me? With this Kurosawa guy sniffing around?”

Makoto frowned. “I _do_ have some thoughts about that, actually.”

“I knew it!”

“...Shiho. Are you comfortable with this?” Makoto asked, carefully. “I’m sorry if it’s not my place, but I really do consider you one of my close friends. I’m worried about you.”

“I… what?”

“I was thinking of last year at the beach.” Makoto said. “When we were alone, and that pushy guy wouldn’t take no for an answer and grabbed your wrist. You didn’t say anything at the time, but you looked really scared.”

Shiho blinked. She hadn’t thought of that in _ages_.

“If this Kurosawa’s making you feel uncomfortable, we’ll make him stop. We might not be able to change hearts anymore, but if you need back up, all of us can--”

“No! No, it’s nothing like that.” Shiho said, quickly. “I… He just caught me a bit off-guard, I guess? I never thought anyone would want to look at me like that, especially after everything that happened last year. I mean… Even though Ryuji stopped Kamoshida before he could do what he wanted to me, I figured that everyone would still consider me damaged goods from the romance perspective.”

“You’re _not_ damaged goods, Shiho.” Makoto replied immediately - almost sternly. “Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“I know.” Shiho grinned, impishly. “I just figured I wouldn’t bother with that sort of stuff in high school, you know? But as for Kurosawa… It’s not like he’s super pushy or creepy about it. He’s… strangely sweet about it. When I say no, he just says ‘thank you’ for answering him before smiling and walking away. I get the feeling that if I told him to stop, he would.”

“Oh. Good.” Makoto said, looking relieved. “I’m glad, Shiho. All I want is for you to be happy. If it weren’t for you, Ryuji and I might not have gotten together, right?”

“Heh. Right.” Shiho sighed in relief.

“Good. Then, we can both move forward.” Makoto returned the smile, reaching across the table to pat Shiho’s hand.

“Thanks, Mako-chan. You’re really a good friend, you know? I can’t believe I was so worried what you’d do--... wait. What do you mean we can _both_ move forward?”

Makoto blinked innocently. “Hm? I must have misspoken. It’s not like I _swore I’d make you pay_.”

“...But you did. The night before Valentine’s Day.”

Makoto shrugged. “Must have slipped my mind.”

“You have a photographic memory!” Shiho shouted accusingly.

“Huh. I suppose I do.”

“...W-well, _fine_. You can do whatever you want, Mako-chan. It’s not like we’re going to start dating anyway.”

“So you say.” Makoto shrugged again.

“So I _know_.” Shiho said, firmly.

“Really. It’s interesting, you know. You’re a pretty strong-willed person, and you aren’t afraid to speak your mind. And as you say, Kurosawa sounds like the type of boy who _would_ take no for an answer, especially if you told him to stop confessing to you every day. So, I wonder. Why _haven’t_ you told him to stop asking you out?”

Shiho turned bright red, staring at the table.

Makoto smirked slightly. “Oh, you’re so _cute,_ _Shi-chan_. All attack and no defense, just like in Haru’s text.”

“Betrayal on all sides!” Shiho said, shaking her head with a little smile.

Ryuji and Ann returned; the group got back to studying. Shiho’s anxiety faded; it seemed that Makoto was going to leave it at good-natured teasing.

Ann glanced at the time. “Oh. I’ve gotta run, guys. I’m meeting Ren over at Crossroads to rehearse with Kurosawa and his friends.”

Makoto nodded, closing her laptop. “Shall we call it a day, then? I think we’ve all worked pretty hard.”

“Woo. I’ll say.” Ryuji sighed, collapsing back into the booth. He draped an arm over Makoto’s shoulders, giving her a little squeeze. “Thanks to you, of course.”

Makoto’s cheeks turned a little pink at the casual display of affection. She smiled, shrugging Ryuji’s arm off to stand up. “I hardly did a thing, Ryuji. You’re all more than capable of succeeding on your own. Though, I’m always happy to help.”

Shiho stood up, nodding. “Thanks, Mako-chan. And thanks for not pushing the revenge agenda.”

“Oh, of course. I’m in university, remember? It’s not like I have time to plot an intricate vengeance on a highschooler. That’s just silly.”

“Heh. Right.” Shiho said, packing her bag. She froze, as Makoto’s tone took a quietly hard edge.

“For someone in _my_ position, I would have had to start planning from the day I decided to get some payback. Otherwise, I’d never have the time.”

Shiho stared at Makoto. Makoto just continued to pack her things.

“I mean, _if_ I were to do something, I would have had to put in the groundwork _months_ in advance. But who could _possibly_ be so tactically minded?” Makoto beamed at Shiho.

“...You’re killing me, Mako-chan.”

“Not yet, Shi-chan.”

>>>

Ann walked down the stairs into Crossroads, a little spring in her step. It was the first weekend in a while where both she and Ren weren’t terribly busy, and on top of that, her parents were away on business. While she was on the balance much happier that Elias and Erika Takamaki were spending more time at home this year, she missed being able to have Ren stay overnight as frequently as he did last year. Erika knew what was going on, of course, but Elias remained blissfully ignorant. And for the sake of the cordial relationship between him and Ren, it was important that it remain that way for a little while longer.

Ann pushed the door open, waving at Lala. “Hey, Lala-chan!”

Lala looked a little distressed. “Er… Ann-chan! Good to see you.”

“Lala-chan? What’s wrong?” Ann asked, concerned.

“Uhm… You’d better take a look yourself, sweetie. You should brace yourself.”

“Brace myself…?”

“Hey, Songbird!” Ren called from the back, where the piano was. “You’re the first one here. Kurosawa and the others are running a bit late.”

“Hey, Wildcard. What’s wrong? Lala-chan said I should brace myself… …Oh my _God?!_ ”

Ann trailed off, her eyes widening at the prominent bruise Ren sported around his right eye.

“What happened?! Who did this to you? _!_ ” In a flash, Ann was standing by the piano bench holding Ren by either side of his face as she inspected the bruise and looked for other damage.

Lala-chan moaned. “His face. His beautiful face. _Why_ …?”

“Lala-chan, please. I told you that you can stop saying that. And Songbird, it’s fine, really. Just a black eye from the spar today.” Ren said, gently taking Ann’s hands off his face. He held them, squeezing gently. He smiled at her. “It was against a pro, and he gave me a good one.”

Ann sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not used to seeing you take visible damage, Wildcard. At least, not from boxing matches.”

Ren shook his head. “Shirai-san is a pro. He’s not at the level of Yamanaka-san, but he’s talented. The gap between inter-high boxing and pro-boxing is huge.”

Ann took a seat beside Ren. “Were you wearing headgear?”

“I was. He just hit me in the perfect spot, and _hard_.” Ren marveled.

“That’s surprising.”

“Surprised me, too. Right in the face.” Ren said, smiling ruefully. He started to warm up his hands on the piano, playing softly. “Hey… Can I ask you a question?”

“Sounds serious, Ren.”

Ren nodded, lowering his voice; he glanced briefly at Lala. Ann understood immediately, shuffling a little closer to her boyfriend. She leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. For all intents and purposes, they looked like a young couple whispering sweet nothings to each other.

“Last year, in the Metaverse… Would you have described me as a passive fighter?”

Ann’s eyes widened. She thought of all the times she’d fought at Ren’s side, all the times where she watched him ply his trade with blade, gun, and spellfire. While he stopped being _needlessly_ reckless after Kamoshida’s Palace and their ‘talk’ on Children’s Day, the last word she would have used to describe the fighting style of Joker would have been ‘passive’.

“No. Not at all. The opposite!” Ann said, shaking her head. “Who called you passive?”

“Well. It was more than ‘passive’...”

>>>

“So. What’s wrong with my boxing?” Ren asked, frowning. Ren, Kaname, Kaoru, Shirai, and Shinoda were seated in Shinoda’s office, drinking tea after their sparring match. Ren of course, held a bag of ice against his face.

“You’re passive, Miya-kun.”

“Passive?!” Kaoru exclaimed. “No way. Senpai isn’t passive, he--”

Ren shook his head. “It’s fine, Kaoru. I want to hear it.”

Shirai waved a hand placatingly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect your captain… But, I stand by what I said. You’re talented, Miya. Your ring generalship is astoundingly good for a highschooler, and your technique is excellent. I mean, I had to counter a counter to a counter against you. That sounds as ridiculous as it actually is, yeah?”

Ren smiled. “Then, how did I fall for it?”

“Because he knew you were going to do it.” Kaname said, shaking her head in disbelief. “You were already moving for the left hook when he deflected your cross-counter, Shirai-san.”

“Wow. Sharp _and_ cute.” Shirai grinned.

Kaoru looked surprised before glaring at Shirai. Kaname blinked, but smiled - at Kaoru, poking his ribs with a finger. The infighter broke off his stare, smiling sheepishly.

“But that’s exactly it.” Shirai said. “I knew you were going to do it. Because you’re _incredibly_ adaptable, Miya. To the point where the strength becomes a weakness. You came into the ring with the mentality of adapting to whatever I was going to throw at you. That’s fine at the high school level. The pro ring is a bit different. Your hero’s Mamoru Yamanaka, right? The mentality he goes into the ring with is _making_ his opponent adapt to _him_. It’s one of the main things that makes him so dominant. It’s the same thing I try to do. It’s hard - counter-punching has a tendency to make you more passive - but I manage. Especially when I’m up against a guy like you. Your own skill bit back at you.”

“Right…” Ren said. “So, what should I do?”

Shinoda smiled. “Keep training, first of all. And second, before you can think about exerting your will over the ring and your opponent, you need to figure out what kind of boxer you want to be, Ren. I’m not sure you know what your identity is.”

Ren frowned. “I’m a counter-puncher, like Shirai-san. At least I was before I had to stop competing for the year.”

“Are you?” Shirai asked. “Don’t get me wrong. You’ve got the talent and timing for it. I think your pressure was better when you were hammering my guard, though…”

Ren nodded. “I’ll think about it, Shirai-san. Thanks.”

“Hey. We’re gym mates, technically. Shujin’s affiliated with Coach Shinoda, right?” Shirai grinned. “Hopefully you’ll go pro, and we’ll keep getting to hang out. It was fun, Miya.”

>>>

“Wow. That was pretty instructive.” Ann said, waving as Kurosawa and the two other members of his band - Akane Tanaka, their drummer, and Shouta Kureda, bassist - arrived. “Definitely less vague and ‘wise-master’-y than Yamanaka-san.”

“Mmhm. Hey guys! Go on and set up, we’re ready whenever you are.” Ren said, before turning back to Ann. “It got me thinking, though. I definitely wasn’t a counter-puncher in the Metaverse. If anything, I took the initiative way more than I did before I got arrested. After all, most Shadows don’t punch… If I waited for an attack, it might have meant eating a spell or something.”

“That’s true.” Ann said. “I think you were always at your best when you just… _flowed_. When your hands were always moving, and you looked like you were barely thinking. You didn’t just wait to counter-attack. It was controlled aggression.” Ann smiled sidelong at him. “At least, that’s when you always looked your coolest.”

“Heh. Thanks, Songbird.” Ren said. “What you’re describing is what I was thinking, too. The style wasn’t quite like swarming, in the traditional sense. That’s what Kaname and Kaoru do from in-tight. I think as Joker, I was more like a long-range swarmer. Or a boxer-puncher.”

“Like that other boxer you like. Tommy Hearns, right?” Ann said. “You even do his jab and overhand right.”

Ren laughed softly. He leaned over, kissing Ann’s cheek. “I love that you know that. It’s true. I learned that jab and chopping right before my arrest; even used it in my last fight before I ran into Shido. But I never went aggressively after my opponents in the way I went after Shadows. It’s… different. Shadows are Shadows, and even then, I had issues with the way I had to fight sometimes.”

Ann nodded, thinking of how Ren (as Joker) could also be ruthless when it was called for. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“Think. Train.” Ren said, sighing. “It’s hard to say. Really, it comes back to the same talks we’ve had before. If I want to go pro, this is something I’m going to have to figure out. Do I really want to take the personal risk? And do I really have it in me to get into the ring with a human being with the intention of taking them apart? Going to that world and being ‘passive’ isn’t smart.”

Ann gently stroked the bruise on Ren’s face. She shook her head a little. “I’m really not used to seeing this on you after boxing, Wildcard. If you do go pro, I just want you to be as safe as possible while doing it.”

“And that means figuring out what my heart wants to do.” Ren murmured. He turned his head, kissing Ann’s hand. “I promise, Songbird. I won’t go pro unless I’m fully committed to it.”

“Good.” Ann said. She smiled wryly. “So. Hiroyuki Shirai?”

“Mm. He’s really cool. Never seen such a talented counter-puncher before. And he’s _really_ friendly and humble, too--”

“You’d better not be getting another crush, Wildcard.” Ann pouted. Her eyes sparkled, though.

Ren smirked. He leaned over to whisper; Ann shivered as his breath tickled her ear and the deep register of his voice just melted down her spine.

“I only have eyes for you, Songbird. Even over Mamoru Yamanaka.”

Ann gasped dramatically. “ _Really_?!”

Ren nodded with exaggerated seriousness. “Truly. And Hiroyuki Shirai? Nothing but chopped liver beside you.”

Ann threw her arms around Ren, hugging him tightly with a laugh. “You love me more than two sweaty boxers. Just what every girl ever wants to hear! Be still my beating heart.”

Ren laughed. “You know it.”

Kurosawa blew a note on his trumpet, startling Ren and Ann. “Heh. Are you two lovebirds ready?”

Ren grinned. “Sure.”

Ann stood up, taking her place at the microphone. Shouta started, with the reverberating strum of his bass. Ann smiled back at Ren, before starting to snap her fingers in time with the beat, taking a breath.

 _Never know how much I love you_ _  
__Never know how much I care…_

>>>

“Are you feeling well, Okumura-san? Do you have a fever?”

Haru blinked, sitting up straight. She had been sitting at the conference table in the prototypical ‘daydream’ position, supporting her cheek and chin in the palm of her hand. “Er, excuse me?”

Takakura frowned, looking a little concerned. “Your face is a little flushed, Okumura-san. You’ve been working hard lately on top of your classes, haven’t you?”

Haru felt her face grow even hotter in embarrassment. She had been daydreaming about a certain artist, wondering what it would be like if he actually gained the self-awareness to be attracted to anything other than paint. And lobsters. And whatever else took his fancy for his latest project.

“I’m fine. I’m absolutely fine. Anyway, Sugimura-san. As you can see, we’ve made quite a bit of progress in drafting this plan over the past two weeks.” Haru said. “As discussed, this isn’t so much a merger or partnership as it is an outright purchase of your company’s remaining holdings. But it’ll ensure that your workers’ jobs are protected.”

Sugimura sighed. “...Thank you, Okumura-san.”

Haru looked at her one-time fiance. While she had no interest in getting to know him on a personal level, over the past two weeks of meetings, conference calls, and emails, she had seen first hand how he was a different man. The change of heart invoked by the Phantom Thieves last year was still fully in effect; Hisahito Sugimura truly wanted to make amends. It was to the point where Haru no longer felt she had to have Rui present at all of their meetings.

“Is that relief I hear in your voice, Sugimura-san? Or grief?” Haru asked.

Sugimura seemed to consider his answer carefully. “...A little of both, Okumura-san. I’m glad that we’ve managed to save their jobs, and I’m also glad that I’ve settled the last of my father’s crimes. But even so, it’s sad to see that this is the end of my family’s legacy. You know, there was a time where we were respected in both politics _and_ business. But because of my father’s thirst for power… All we’re going to be known for now is corruption at the highest level of politics and treating our workers as disposable pawns.”

Haru regarded Hisahito quietly for a moment. She smiled slightly. 

“That isn’t _quite_ everything you’re going to be known for, Sugimura-san.” Haru said. “If you swipe to the end of the contract on your tablet, you’ll find your new role outlined.”

“My role…?”

Takakura nodded, continuing. “We said you’d be an employee, if you recall. You’ll be heading up a non-profit organization directed to rehabilitating and assisting anyone injured directly or indirectly by the mental shutdown and psychosis incidents last year.”

“Takakura-san… Thank you.” Sugimura murmured, shocked.

“Don’t thank me. It was Okumura-san’s idea.” The older man said, gesturing to Haru.

Sugimura turned to Haru.

Haru nodded. “You seemed quite sincere about wanting to make up for your father’s sins, Sugimura-san. You’ve done that. Now, you can take that sincerity and try to do better than just ‘make up’ for what happened. You can try to build something positive.”

Takakura smiled. “This calls for a celebratory toast, doesn’t it? Excuse me. I think I have something in my office.”

Haru nodded. She started to pack up her things, intending to leave shortly afterward. She looked up as Sugimura spoke up.

“I… Okumura-san. I don’t deserve this.”

“You don’t.” Haru said, flatly. “I won’t ever forget the things you said to me. The things you were intending to _do_ to me. But that’s the idea, Sugimura-san. You don’t deserve it. So _earn_ it. Live your life trying to earn it.”

Sugimura was silent for a moment. He then looked at Haru with a straightforward, earnest gaze. He nodded firmly. “I will. You can count on it.”

Haru nodded back.

Sugimura sighed, shaking his head. “To think. My past self was so blind to see you as a ‘thing’ rather than a partner. You’re quite formidable, you know?”

“I wasn’t always.” Haru replied. “Someone had to show me the way back to myself.”

“Ah. So there _is_ someone special. I should have known.” Sugimura smiled, a little wistfully.

“...There was. But he isn’t for me.” Haru said, simply.

“And now?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Sugimura-san. ...But no. There doesn’t seem to be.”

“Ah. I see…” Sugimura paused. “...If I might be so bold, Okumura-san. I won’t say something as stupid as suggesting we start over. But can I at least take you out to dinner to thank you for everything you’ve done?”

Haru shook her head. “No. I’d rather not, Sugimura-san.”

She stood. This was too awkward. “I’ll let Takakura-san know I couldn’t stay. You two should celebrate, though. You’ve both worked hard on this deal.” She headed to the door, glancing back at Sugimura again. He seemed genuine; his heart really had changed, after all. And it would be at least a temporary distraction from Yusuke…

“...Maybe we can do lunch, Sugimura-san. I’ll have Rui-san contact you.”

>>>

October 1, 2017 

It was early Sunday morning. Most of the people who were awake were third shift workers heading home or hungover salarymen and college students. There were, however, some exceptions.

“Last interval, Iwai! Push it!” Kaname shouted. She was in her running shoes and athletic wear as well, choosing to train alongside her boxer and boyfriend. Despite not being an active boxer, she made it a point to be able to keep up with any of her fighters.

The pair of first-year students dashed alongside the Tama River on the same trail where Ren and Makoto put the original iteration of the Shujin boxing club through their paces. Gritting his teeth, Iwai dug deep, outpacing his trainer in the final burst. As he passed the tree that marked the end of the interval, he resisted the urge to come to a dead stop, instead coming to the now well-practiced cool-down pace of a light jog.

Kaname caught up, nodding approvingly. She panted, speaking in clipped phrases. “Nice work, Iwai. Let’s take a break at the park up ahead.”

Kaoru nodded, not able to reply at this time. It was incredibly early on their day off, but he didn’t mind - it was time with his favorite sport and his favorite person, after all. They came to a stop at the park; the two of them walked over to the swings, each of them plopping down onto a rubber seat. Kaname reached into her backpack, passing Kaoru a sports drink; he smiled gratefully.

“Thanks, Coach.” Iwai said, now catching his breath.

“Nice run, Iwai.” Kaname nodded. “It’s time to start backing off your training. It’s more important for you to rest up this week, maybe polish up technique.”

Iwai nodded. “It’s tough, though. I can only prepare for the first opponent…”

“That’s true.” Kaname said. “The way high school tournaments work, you don’t really have time to come up with and practice a strategy for your opponent beyond the first round. When you get past the first one, you just have to deal with it. It’s not like the pro tournaments… Those take place over several months.”

Kaoru sighed. “ _If_ I make it past the first one...”

“You will.” Kaname said, smiling. “You’re a Takeda boxer, remember?”

Kaoru nodded. He jumped off the swing, starting to shadow box. He was anxious; even though it was his first run at the Nationals… even though no one expected much from a first-year boxer, he desperately wanted to advance. He had a score to settle.

“...Do you think Kobayashi’s going to make it to the finals?”

Kaname frowned. “He’s got the talent for it. And on his side of the bracket, there isn’t anyone I’d recognize as a major threat.” Kobayashi was placed on the opposite side of the bracket from Kaoru, as the two of them were first and second in the Inter-high. If they met at the Nationals, it would have to be at the finals.

“...Good.” Kaoru said, pursing his lips. His fists cut the air as he continued shadowing. His normally kind eyes narrowed coldly as he visualized Kobayashi. He blinked as Kaname effortlessly slipped into his range, catching his jab with her open hand.

“That’s a good glare, Iwai.” Kaname said, her brilliant green eyes looking straight into his own. She was so full of contradictions. ‘Trainer’ Kaname didn’t have an issue with staring him down, getting right into his space. ‘Girlfriend’ Kaname was liable to either blush and stare at the ground, or start smacking him. Or both. “But you’re tensing up. You can’t get too focused on Kobayashi… Are you still pissed about how he fouled you?”

Kaoru shook his head. “No… Not really. Senpai said it best. Kobayashi wanted to win, and he saw an opening. I… just don’t like the things he said about you. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

Kaname’s expression softened; she squeezed his fist, still holding his jab. “I can take care of myself, Iwai.”

“I know you can.” Iwai lowered his fist, rubbing the back of his neck. “...But I want to take care of you, too.”

Kaname blinked. She blushed, before shoving at Iwai’s shoulder. “You…! We’re training. Focus!”

“Heh. Sorry.”

Kaname shook her head, grumbling. “Seriously. Two of my National hopefuls go soft-headed at the romantic crap. That’s half the reason why I gave Renpai the day off today. He’s been dying to spend more time with Ann-nee.”

“I was wondering why he wasn’t joining us.” Kaoru said.

“He also got clocked good.” Kaname shook her head. “Shirai’s really something. I can see why Coach Shinoda thinks he’s got a shot at the JBC title.”

Kaoru thought of the charismatic boxer, the one who knocked Ren down; the one who saw past Kaname’s irascible attitude in an instant, calling her ‘cute’. “...He’s not _that_ impressive.” Kaoru mumbled, inwardly cringing the moment the words left his mouth. Even to his ears, he sounded ridiculous. A first-year highschool boxer criticizing an up and coming pro.

To his surprise, Kaname’s expression softened for a moment. She was ‘Trainer Kaname’ in the next second, though, jerking her head at a broken set of parallel bars on the playground. One of the bars had been removed, leaving just a long single rail at roughly shoulder height for Kaoru.

“Slip 1-2’s, Iwai. Go until I give you the signal to stop.” Kaname said.

Kaoru nodded. He stood at one end of the rail; he took his stance, both fists in front of his face, just below his eyes. He shot forward, head-slipping under the bar. As he rose, he fired a quick 1-2 combination before slipping back under the bar to the other side and repeating a 1-2. He continued doing this quick lateral motion while stepping forward, applying the overwhelming pressure characteristic of the Takeda infighting style. He reached the end of the rail - Kaname hadn’t given the signal to stop, so he pivoted and launched forward to move back in the other direction, head-slipping under the bar and rising again.

A violet-haired blur closed the distance; green eyes and a pretty face filled his vision. Kaoru startled, immediately aborting his 1-2 combination and dropping his guard.

His eyes remained wide open as Kaname kissed him; he nearly fell on his ass from the shock of it.

The surprisingly strong spitfire grabbed him by his shirt collar, steadying him. She carefully smoothed out the fabric, a little smile and rosy blush coloring her face.

“Wh… what was that for?”

“To reassure you, Kaoru.” Kaname murmured. “You’re cute when you’re jealous. But you don’t have to be. I chose you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“...Heh. Right. Thanks-- Ouch!” He winced, as Kaname rapped his forehead with a knuckle. “What was that for?!”

She grinned. “You dropped your guard. You’re lucky I just decided to kiss you, idiot. Could have knocked your ass into next Sunday.”

>>>

Yui Tanaka, Ann’s nanny and surrogate grandmother, was technically supposed to check in on her beloved ‘Kei-chan’ this morning. But, as she often did when Erika and Elias Takamaki were away, Ann’s ‘Ba-chan’ dragged her feet a little. Just a little convenient arthritis. Convenient for Ann and Ren, anyway. Yui chuckled quietly to herself as she made her breakfast. She didn’t mind at all. The young man was still obviously head over heels in love with Ann even a year and a half later, despite the generally ephemeral nature of teenage romance. It reminded her of how she had fallen for - and then eloped with - her late husband.

Yui sat down to eat at her kitchen table with a satisfied sigh. Maybe she’d go shopping today, or visit one of her actual grandchildren. She eventually would drop by the Takamaki residence, but not right now. After all, it was the first weekend in a while where a business trip for Erika and Elias coincided with Ann and Ren both having a day off. Yui smirked. The shrewd grandmother decided to drag her feet a _lot_ today. Probably into the early afternoon, as a matter of fact.

Her phone started ringing.

_‘How odd. Who would call me at this hour…?’_

She smiled as she read the caller ID. Erika, likely calling to make sure she and Ann were doing well, or to confirm a clothing size for Ann or one of Yui’s grandchildren before buying gifts to bring back.

“Good morning, dear! Isn’t it terribly early in Milan right now? I thought Tokyo was seven hours ahead! Really, you need to get a good night’s sleep. If that husband of yours is keeping you up—“

“Ah, no no no. It’s fine, Bachan! We’ve actually just landed in Tokyo. Fashion Week went well, but we decided to skip the after-parties and meetings.”

“...Oh. I see.” Yui’s smile faded.

“Yes. I told Elias that we didn’t need to rush back, but he misses Kei-chan… And he really wanted to make sure he gets back in time to see _Ren-kun_ fight in the Nationals. I tried calling Kei-chan as well to let her know the good news, but she wasn’t picking up.”

Yui didn’t miss the emphasis. Likely, Elias was sitting or standing right there. “Ah. I see. I _understand completely_ , dear. See you soon!”

Yui abruptly hung up. She scrolled down to Ann’s contact information, calling immediately to warn the lovebirds of the impending intrusion.

>>>

Ann stretched her arms languorously as she woke up, sighing softly at the feel of the smooth sheets against her bare skin. She winced slightly as she pointed her toes and continued the stretch into her long legs, feeling a twinge of soreness particularly as she swung her leg over to lie on her side.

Her hand slid over the other pillow, still slightly indented from where Ren’s head had been resting. She smiled softly at the little origami cat he left there. She wasn’t disappointed at his absence; the cat meant he was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. If he had placed the paper rose there, that meant he had left, and that she should check her phone for a text from him. She placed the cat back on the nightstand beside the rose; she sat up, grimacing a little again. It obviously wasn’t their first time, but it was their first time in a while. Not that she minded, though. As always, it was worth every ounce of discomfort. Ann had _really_ missed this.

She stood, heading to her en-suite bathroom. She stepped over the clothes haphazardly strewn all over the floor - a his and her mix of Shujin Academy uniforms in addition to the usual mess of clothes and clutter. Ann glanced at the mirror, shaking her head slightly at the evidence of last night’s activities - a little bruise on the underside of her breast; another sucked onto her inner thigh. She sighed as the hot water of the shower caressed her skin, reminding her of his touch and triggering little butterfly sensations of sated need in her core.

 _‘...I love Sundays.’_ Ann mused. Especially Sundays mornings after having been fucked silly by an extremely fit, extremely thirsty Ren Amamiya.

Ann sighed again, indulging in the replay her mind provided. She closed her eyes, making plans to ‘convince’ Ren to let their breakfast get cold in favor of settling a different sort of hunger.

Unbeknownst to the blonde girl in the shower, her phone, buried under her tartan skirt and Ren’s blazer, vibrated and rang urgently.

>>>

Ren glanced over his shoulder, standing shirtless in the Takamaki residence’s kitchen. His sharp ear caught not only the sound of the shower, but also Ann’s phone and the ringtone that seemed to change on a weekly basis.

_‘Heh. Martin Suzuki? Never guessed Songbird would be a fan.’_

Humming the tune to the poppy song, even after the ringing ceased (call unanswered), he beat eggs in a bowl with a pair of chopsticks and added a small amount of mirin, dashi, and light soy sauce until the mixture was an even, bright yellow. Ren turned with a practiced ease to the sink, catching a drop of water from the faucet on his fingertip. The boxer flicked it into the rectangular _tamagoyaki_ pan, smiling slightly at the note of the sizzle.

 _‘Perfect.’_ He was wary of the induction cooktop at first, but after a few meals he was sold. It was yet another perk of staying over at Ann’s place.

The main perk, of course, was in the shower. Ren smiled wryly. After he poured the egg mixture into the pan, he absently felt the mark over his clavicle. Unlike the one he still had around his right eye, he could remember precisely how he got the one on his collarbone. Not to mention the bite mark on his left hip. Ann had really put him through his paces last night, meeting his substantial desire head-on and turning what he thought was going to be a ‘one-round KO’ into ‘going the distance’. He was shirtless mostly because he had _no_ idea where his shirt even was. Or his phone, for that matter. Not that he cared. No one would have any reason to call them today anyway.

 _‘I love Sundays.’_ Ren thought, sighing as he carefully rolled the tamagoyaki in a bamboo sushi mat, letting it stand for a few minutes before removing it from the mat and slicing the rolled omelette into neat cross-sections with a sharp knife. He glanced over at the bowl. Still enough of the mixture left for another roll. He garnished the first serving with grated daikon as he heard the shower stop and Ann’s phone start up again.

_‘That’s the second try. Maybe I should answer for her. Probably important--’_

Voices outside the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Elias, don’t you think we should go and pick up some breakfast first? I’m sure Kei-chan will be hungry.”

“Ah, maybe, Erika. But we’re here anyway. Let’s at least drop off our luggage.”

“But then we’ll wake her up needlessly, don’t you think?”

“She sleeps like a rock, kulta! Now come on, open the door. We can’t stand in this hallway forever.”

Ren dropped the chopsticks onto the kitchen island counter.

 _‘Oh,_ **_fuck_ ** _.’_

>>>

Ann stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. She blinked, hearing her phone ring. Digging it out from under a pile of clothes, she blinked - apparently she had missed three calls, all from Bachan. She answered.

“Bachan? Is everything--”

“KEI-CHAN! Thank God! They’re coming!”

“Who’s coming?” Ann asked. A feeling of cold foreboding formed in her stomach.

“Your parents! Your parents are back early, and they’re on the way! I’m on my way as well to help you clean up, but there isn’t much time! You need to get Ren-kun out of there--”

“Kei-chan~ We’re home!”

Ann let her phone thud to the carpet at the sound of Erika’s voice.

 _‘Oh,_ **_fuck._ ** _’_

“Kei-chan! We’ll be inside in a _minute_! I’m just having a little trouble with all these bags~”

“Kulta, why are you fumbling so much? Just let me… Ouch! Mind your elbow, Erika! What are you doing?!”

“Oh, so _clumsy_ of me! I’m sorry. Here, let me look at your face--”

“! Why are you covering my eyes?!”

Ann quickly got dressed. She shoved Ren’s clothes under her bed before dashing out into the open plan apartment. She had to get Ren and hide him somewhere.

Except for the fact that he was nowhere to be found.

Hope glimmered faintly in Ann’s heart. Did Ren slip out already? Or maybe he put the origami cat on her pillow by mistake?

Hope died at the sight of neatly rolled tamagoyaki, and a _slightly_ ajar coat closet door.

Her father pushed the door open. The tall blonde man shook his head, rubbing his cheek and grumbling. “Honestly kulta, I’m not angry. I’m more impressed you managed to turn fumbling with the keys to elbowing your husband in the face.”

“I’m so sorry, dear. Why don’t you go to the bedroom and lie down? I’ll take care of unpacking.”

Elias shook his head, smiling. “It’s fine! Besides, as you can see, we had nothing to worry about. Kei-chan’s already awake--oof!”

“Daddy~!” Ann cried, slamming into her father and hugging him tightly. She spun him halfway around so that he was facing away from the coat closet. She caught her mother’s eye; she jerked her head towards the door of the closet - the door that surreptitiously drew _itself_ closed.

Erika casually slid their suitcases in front of the door before joining in the hug, taking the opportunity of the embrace to herd the Takamaki patriarch away from the coat closet and deeper into the living room.

“Haha. Not so hard, Kei-chan. I’m not as spry as I used to be.”

“Oh, Daddy. That’s silly. But if you’re feeling tired, you really should go and rest.”

“Nonsense. I’d much rather have breakfast with you. Let’s go out.”

“Oh! That’s a _great_ idea.” Ann nodded enthusiastically. She started pushing Elias back towards the front door. “Let’s go out. Right now.”

“You’re still wearing your pyjamas, Kei-chan.”

“Oh. Right. Well, in that case you should go on ahead and get us a table somewhere! We’ll catch up after Ann gets dressed.” Erika said, nodding in a brunette mirror image to her daughter.

“You’re both acting quite strangely.” Elias frowned. “Besides, Kei-chan’s already making breakfast.”

Elias extricated himself from the double hug, walking over to the kitchen island. He looked at the beautifully rolled tamagoyaki, perfectly garnished with grated daikon. “These are beautiful. When did you learn to make this?”

Ann hid her anxiety with a saccharine smile. “Oh, you know. I wanted to surprise you, Daddy.”

Elias grinned. He did love his little girl. He took a seat at the kitchen island, nodding. “They look so intricate… I’d love to see how you make them. Looks like there’s even enough for another batch in the mixing bowl.”

“Oh…! Uh… Sure!”

Ann had _no_ idea. Her cooking had improved substantially since Ren got out of prison, to the point where there was no issue at all with the flavors she imparted in her food - but, she wasn’t quite at the level of the son of two inn proprietors in terms of presentation. She eyed the bowl of beaten eggs and the rectangular tamagoyaki pan.

 _‘This can’t be_ **_that_ ** _hard, right?’_

She walked over, picking up the bowl. She glanced at the perfectly uniform, bright yellow tamagoyaki made by Ren. Her mouth watered at just the _appearance_ of them - they looked like they had been extracted from one of the promotional photos on the Amamiya ryokan’s website. Elias reached over, plucking one omelette bite off the plate. His eyes lit up.

“This is incredible. Did you make the dashi, also?”

“Aheh. Y-yep! Just used a _dash_ of it though, of course.” Ann laughed anxiously at the terrible pun, looking desperately over at her mother. There was no way she’d be able to make anything that looked remotely like the little bites Ren had made.

Erika spritely walked over to Elias’ side, thinking fast. “Don’t be silly, love. You’re still in your travel clothes. While Kei-chan cooks, we should get our things unpacked.”

“Ah, of course.” Elias nodded.

Ann sighed in relief.

“I’ll just put my coat away.” Ann’s father left the kitchen island, heading for the coat closet still occupied by a half-naked Ren.

 _‘Shit shit shit shit shit!’_ Ann started to move. No time for pretense. She’d have to just bite the bullet, tackle her father to the ground, and come up with an explanation for it on the fly. So long as Ren wasn’t discovered by her ex-Special Forces father.

Elias’s hand lit on the door to the coat closet.

The door burst open - the _front_ door.

“Ah! Elias! Welcome home!” Yui exclaimed. Her entry forced Elias back a couple steps. Moving too smoothly for the man to react, Yui faced him the other way, making a show of taking his coat off for him. “You’re so careless! How many hours on a plane and you haven’t even taken off your coat yet!”

“Well I was just—“

“Go on! Go and get changed! Shoo!”

Yui took the coat, opening the closet door. Ren stood there, _sans_ shirt. Erika, Yui, and Ann all simultaneously motioned at the front door. Ren made his move, darting out of the closet.

Elias started to turn back around.

Displaying reflexes that reminded Ann of their Metaverse days, Ren changed direction and dove behind the kitchen island.

“Thank you for looking after Ann, Bachan.” Elias said. “I’m sorry that we didn’t call you in time to stop you from coming over. You could have had the day off.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. The three of you are like my family too.” Yui nodded, waving a hand dismissively. The gesture also doubled as a signal for Ren to move deeper into the apartment. If he couldn’t exit, he’d need to hide again. The boxer understood immediately, army-crawling into the living room while Elias’ back was turned.

“Yes, of course.” Elias nodded. He started to turn in Ren’s direction.

“Daddy!~” Ann shouted again, throwing herself into another enthusiastic hug.

“Oof! Did you really miss me _that_ much?”

“Mmmhm! Sure did!” Ann chirped. She watched as Ren darted to the other side of the room, exiting onto the balcony. Crisis averted.

“Haha. Well, I’m glad we came back early, then.” Elias said. “I’ll go and get changed. Then we should have breakfast and talk a little bit. Do you remember Alain, from Elite Model Management in New York? He’s been quite impressed with your recent work…”

Ann got dressed while Bachan finished making the remainder of the omelette, as well as a few other things. The three women managed to convince Elias that it was a terrible day to enjoy breakfast on the balcony. Instead, the four of them ate breakfast and chatted inside, while Ann cast an occasional anxious glance at the balcony, hidden from view by the curtains. Thankfully, it was just the start of October - it wasn’t that cold outside, though Ren couldn’t have been incredibly comfortable standing outside of a 30th floor apartment.

“Kei-chan, I’ve been meaning to ask you. The National Boxing Tournament is a ticketed event, isn’t it? Do you know if Ren-kun managed to secure tickets for us?” Elias asked, startling Ann.

“Oh! Uhm… I actually don’t know, Daddy.”

“Can you call him and ask?”

Ann nodded. Ren wouldn’t be able to answer, but she could at least make a show of calling. “Let me just get my phone--” She froze, spotting not her phone, but Ren’s - just visible underneath the sofa, where she and Ren spent the evening watching a movie together before forgetting about the movie and stumbling into her bedroom together. If she phoned Ren, her father would hear Ren’s phone immediately. “Oh. Hah… hah. You know, Daddy. I forgot to charge my phone.”

“Oh. That’s fine. I think I have his number anyway.”

“!! What!?”

“Mm. He gave it to me the last time he was over for dinner. Thoughtful young man, really. Let’s see--”

“No, wait!” Ann shouted.

“You’re probably waking him up.” Erika said, quickly.

“No phones at the breakfast table, Elias!” Bachan snapped, desperately.

There was a knock on the door.

Elias pocketed his phone, standing. “Hm. Who could that be?” Ann’s father opened the door, revealing a fully dressed Ren.

Ann’s jaw dropped. Her eyes shot to the balcony and then back to Ren. It was him, alright. He was dressed in clothes that fit reasonably well, but looked unfamiliar to the model. He gave Ann a meaningful look before shaking Elias’ hand, feigning surprise at seeing the Takamaki patriarch.

“Elias-san! What a surprise. I hope I’m not intruding. I dropped by to pick up Ann… One of your neighbors let me into the building.”

“Oh. Not intruding at all, Ren-kun. We were just talking about you. Oh, wow. Who gave you that black eye?”

“Hiroyuki Shirai.”

“Shirai!? That rookie welterweight who’s 4-0? Come in, come in. Have some breakfast and tell me how that happened.”

Ren smiled. He stepped inside, taking off his shoes; he casually draped his coat over a corner of the sofa, the hem dropping down to cover his dropped phone from view. “Happy to, Elias-san.”

Ann, Erika, and Yui stared at Ren incredulously as he smoothly greeted each of them before recounting the tale of the sparring match.

>>>

Later in the morning, Ann and Ren walked towards the subway station in Hiroo.

Ann groaned. “I think I aged twenty years, Wildcard.”

Ren smirked. “Looking pretty good for a thirty-seven year old then, Songbird.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “How the hell did you show up at the front door? Weren’t you on the balcony?”

“I was.”

“Then what happened?”

“Like I said, one of your neighbours let me into the building.” Ren said, neutrally.

“Well, obviously. None of us had to buzz you in, and…” Ann trailed off. Her eyes became saucers as she gasped. She grabbed his wrist, dragging him into a nearby park. “You _didn’t_!”

“Didn’t do what?” Ren asked, innocently.

Ann sat the boxer down on a bench, crossing her arms. She glared down at him, looking remarkably like she did when she was Panther and scolding Joker for doing something reckless, stupid, or both.

“Talk.”

>>>

Mari Minoru, sports journalist and regular columnist for _Boxing Fan Monthly_ was already having a rough day. She sat in the solarium of her 29th floor apartment in Hiroo, eating her breakfast. The ‘meal’ apparently consisted of an almost-stale croissant, instant coffee, her open laptop, and her cell phone.

“What do you _mean_ Yamanaka’s backing out of all interview requests?! This is completely unprofessional, Hirose!”

“I’m really sorry, Minoru-san. You know how Yama-kun gets. The fight’s just a few months away, but right now even _I_ don’t know where he is, and he isn’t answering his phone.”

The journalist tossed her shoulder-length red hair irritatedly. “Ugh. Fine. This really puts me over a barrel, you know? It’s not like interview opportunities just fall out of the sky--”

- _thud-_

Mari blinked, looking up over the top of her laptop. Her solarium opened onto a small balcony. A small balcony now occupied by high school welterweight ace, Ren Amamiya. Who was wearing only the eyesore tartan patterned pants of Shujin Academy, bereft of both shoes and shirt.

“...Uh, you know, Hirose, it’s fine. Talk to you later.” Mari mumbled, hanging up. She stood up, opening the door to the solarium.

“Er… Hi.” Amamiya said, rubbing the back of his neck. “...Nice day, huh?”

Mari raised an eyebrow. “I thought so. But apparently it’s raining men.”

“Hallelujah.” The boxer replied, lamely. Mari didn’t smile at that, even if she wanted to. Her sharp mind quickly saw an opportunity here. Amamiya nodded at the door. “Sorry for dropping by unexpectedly. If you step aside, I can get out of your hair.”

Mari didn’t budge. “Sorry. No shirt, no shoes, no service.”

The boxer blinked. He started to protest, until he caught the look in Mari’s eye. It seemed as though the young man was familiar with making deals, and wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. That was interesting.

“How about we talk about how we can help each other, first?”

>>>

“And that’s how Mari Minoru roped me into a series of interviews for _Boxing Fan_.” Ren said, sheepishly. “She drives a pretty hard bargain.”

Ann shook her head. “That was crazy, Wildcard. You scaled down a balcony of a _thirty storey_ building! You didn’t have to do that! I know we had a close call when Daddy suggested eating outside, but if he caught you, what would be the worst thing that could happen?!”

“Right. It’s not as if your dad is ex-Finnish Special Forces _and_ a former boxer. And it’s not as if he loves his little girl more than _anything_ on God’s green Earth.” Ren said, flatly. “And besides. It was only to the 29th floor.”

Ann sighed, shaking her head. She sat down on the bench beside Ren, adjusting the coat he wore. “Why did this sports journalist have men’s clothing in her apartment, anyway?”

“Oh. She has a boyfriend.” Ren said.

Ann nodded. “Good. I’m tired of attractive single women randomly showing up in your life.”

“Me too. I don’t think it’s our turn to have a real jealousy arc anyway. Not with all these other relatively newer relationships springing up around us.” Ren grinned.

Ann snorted at that. “Anyway, it was nice of her to lend you his clothes.”

“Not that nice. Passage through her apartment cost the interviews during my high school boxing career. The clothes cost the right of first refusal for any interviews if I go pro.” Ren laughed. “As I said, she drives a hard bargain. She’s a good writer, though. I’ve read a few of her pieces in _Boxing Fan_. But, more importantly… What about your career? I overheard some of the conversation from the balcony before I climbed down.”

“Oh. That thing about Elite Model Management in New York?” Ann asked.

“Mm. Sounds like a good opportunity for you.”

“Maybe.” Ann said, frowning thoughtfully. “It’s not true that every serious model is based out of New York, London, Milan, or Paris. Those _are_ the traditional ‘big four’ fashion capitals of the world. Tokyo rounds out the ‘big five’, though… And most of my connections are here, anyway.” Ann shrugged. “All my father said was that Alain is ‘interested’ in my work. That’s nothing concrete, and nothing I’m going to up and move for.”

Ren frowned. “Alright, Songbird. You’d know better than me. But you should know. If something ever comes up, I’m completely behind you. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

Ann smiled. “I know.” She paused, glancing sidelong at him. “Though, you don’t _have_ to be super reasonable about it, you know.”

“What do you mean?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ann echoed his words from Valentine’s Day, with a little smile and blush. “I want you to be selfish, Wildcard. Tell me what you really think.”

Ren’s breath caught a little at the look she gave him. It was amazing, how over a year into their relationship, she could still take his breath away seemingly at will. Whether it was an intimate night together, or during a photoshoot… Or even now, on a park bench on a crisp fall day.

As always, he saw his future in her soft smile, her aquamarine eyes.

“...Then, I want to be by your side, forever.”

She nodded, hugging his arm, kissing his cheek.

“Good. Then… Let’s just keep pushing ahead and doing our best, right? If that’s what we both want, then… I’m not worried. This is our happily ever after, remember?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please bear with me. There is a plan in all of this, and right now I'm laying the groundwork/planting the seeds.
> 
> Eventually, Ren will stop humming and hawing and make a decision RE: his career.
> 
> Regarding Shiho's thoughts on romance. It's funny - I really love this character, but I haven't really written a lot from her 'perspective' if I go back and read my stuff. I think it's because for GtD, she's worked incredibly well as 'Fifth Business' (see the novel by Roberston Davies) - basically a key supporting character, someone who mediates, someone who facilitates. This is probably the first time in the story since the Kamoshida arc where she's taking a very direct hand in what's happening.
> 
> The whole idea of 'damaged goods' is sad - Even though in my AU, Ryuji was in time to stop Kamoshida from 'finishing the job', I feel like the sad truth is that damage is still done, and people are still labelled unfairly. I imagine that many students at Shujin might admire Shiho for her strength, particularly as she gets back into sport and declares herself as premed. But, would they want to get personally involved with her?
> 
> And more importantly, would she want to get involved with anyone else?
> 
> These are things I will address as this arc moves on. As he stated, Kurosawa's life hasn't been all roses, either. Kamoshida was a massive tool - he killed the recommendation letters the jazz club was originally going to get. The idea came to me from the faceless NPC you meet in April in P5, the one who's being told in the hallway by a teacher that he's lost his letter in favor of giving one to the volleyball club.
> 
> The whole Elias/Erin/Yui/Ann/Ren sequence was just fun for me to write.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a big weekend in Tokyo - It's not only the All-Japan National Boxing Championship, but also the weekend of the National Sports Festival in Japan. Matches are fought, races are run, volleyball games are played. And, relationships are deepened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toudai - Tokyo University. For anime/manga lovers, you all already know it's the most prestigious/difficult to enter university in the country.  
> Uwabaki - Slippers worn in schools/other public places where you aren't allowed to wear your street shoes around inside. They don't bother with this in the game, but I decided I wanted to in this AU (as reflected in earlier chapter where someone left tacks in Kaname's shoes)  
> Mixer - Goukon. Basically group dating/meet up for singles.

October 5, 2017 

Unlike many other areas of Tokyo, Yongen-Jaya actually slept at night. The little district was a surprising enclave of calm in an otherwise busy city - walking just a few minutes into the backstreets allowed the constant din of the metropolis to fade away. To the residents of the area, it felt like time ticked by just a little slower there, particularly at night. Usually, this was a good thing. It was a sanctuary; an escape. But right now, to Ren Amamiya, it was torture.

Each second dragged on slowly, like a Shadow whose leg had been liberated by Noir’s axe. For the life of him, he just couldn’t sleep.

He stood in his attic, barefoot and clad only in his comfortable forest-green drawstring pants. It was maybe half an hour before midnight, and he felt just as amped up as he would be when he was next up for a match. At least when he was ‘on deck’, he knew that the anxiety would vanish the moment the bell rang. But, that wouldn’t come until tomorrow; it was the eve of the first day of the All-Japan National Boxing Championship. The event was going to run from October 6th through to the 9th.

It was actually an important time for athletes of all ages and many sports - it was the weekend of the National Sports Festival of Japan, with competitions across many sports happening in youth, adults, and masters age categories. This year, the Festival was being hosted in various venues around Tokyo. Shiho and Ryuji were also going to compete in volleyball and track respectively, though all of their meets were going to be hosted at different schools. The track meet was at Shujin, volleyball at Kosei, and boxing at Usuda.

Ren paced quietly in the attic.

_‘I need to sleep.’_

But rather than lying back down, Ren raised his fists, starting to shadow box quietly to the dim glow of the streetlamp peeking in from around the curtains. That thought, he noted with irritation, only spiked his anxiety and drove slumber further away. There wasn’t any point in lying down. Physical activity was hopefully the answer to his insomnia.

He ran through his usual combinations, keeping his footwork silent and avoiding the usual sharp exhales that accompanied his punches. He hadn’t run into much trouble so far in his resurgent high school boxing career. He hadn’t shown a hint of ‘ring rust’ from his year-long hiatus, thanks to his time as a Phantom Thief. But the pressure was mounting. Of course, Shujin needed the win as the school worked to rebuild its reputation. That was important in principle, but not that big of a deal to Ren - he wasn’t that interested in helping a school that was so keen on writing off not only him, but also Ryuji, Ann, Shiho, and countless other students. Kawakami, the boxing club’s faculty advisor - it would be good for _her_ career if he won. That actually _was_ important to Ren, but the astute teacher knew her student too well to let him be concerned with that. She had pulled him aside already and told him not to worry about it. She was doing well enough even without the feather in the cap that a boxing team national title could provide, and was being groomed to take the role of Vice Principal.

Similarly, the pressure from his friends and family was also muted by their overriding concern for him. They were all just happy to see him box again.

No… The worst pressure was from within.

Ren was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize he was being watched until he finished a full round. He stopped, turning to look back at his bed. Ann was propped up on an elbow, lying on her side as she observed him quietly. She was currently ‘sleeping over at Shiho’s’, as far as her father knew. Despite his assurances that he would be fine, she insisted on staying over with him. As always, it seemed the model knew him better than he knew himself.

“...Sorry, Songbird. Did I wake you?”

Ann shook her head. She sat up, the wide neckline of his thin black sweater revealing one of her pale shoulders. Her hair was down and tousled; the sleeves of the sweater concealed her hands as she waved at him to join her. Ren smiled slightly despite his mood. It was hard to choose which version of his girlfriend he loved best, but ‘sleepy Ann with perfectly messy hair’ definitely rated in the top ten. Top five, if she was wearing his clothes. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

He sighed softly as she slipped his arms over his shoulders, hugging him from behind.

“I’ve just been dozing a little, Wildcard.” She murmured. “I can’t sleep that well when you’re restless like this.”

“I only got up a little while ago…” Ren said, reaching up to squeeze her hand.

“Doesn’t matter. You’ve been worried all night, and it only got worse after we got ready for bed.” She kissed his cheek. “Want to talk about it?”

Ren was quiet for a long time. “...It’s really stupid, you know? It’s not like I’ve had much trouble boxing this year. I’ve trained hard. Even Kana-chan’s satisfied. It’s just… This is my last chance at the Nationals. If I have a good showing, it essentially clears the way for me to compete in the Winter Cup.”

“That’s the big one, isn’t it?” Ann asked.

“It is. I haven’t competed in the Winter Cup Tournament before.”

Ann let go of him, opting instead to gently push him back down onto the bed so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. She gently stroked his chest in a small circle.

“That’s surprising. I thought your last match before the Phantom Thieves was in February last year? Wasn’t that the Winter Cup?”

Ren shook his head, his eyes automatically closing at the soothing sensation of Ann’s palm on his skin. “It’s true I was boxing in the winter. That was an odd year, though. The timing of the tournaments was changed so there would be a better lead-up to the Summer Olympics for the third-years who actually had a shot at qualifying for the team. So that tournament was actually the Nationals…”

“Ah…”

Ren’s irritation at himself became evident in his clipped speech. “I’m not sure why I’m like this. It doesn’t make any sense. We were literally fighting for our lives last year. For _everyone’s_ lives. I escaped a fake reality by shooting myself in the head and then shot a literal god in the face. This is just some boxing tournament. I need to just suck it up and--”

Her finger lit on his lips, quieting him. Ann shifted positions, mostly lying on top of him. When she spoke, he could both hear and feel her words, reverberating from her slender body and into his anxious heart, as if she was directly calming it. 

“You know, Ren… I’m not surprised you feel this way. I’m actually more surprised it took this long.” Ann said, stroking his cheek. “But I guess it makes sense, based on what you told me about how the timing of the tournaments was different the last time you boxed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… Shiho was the same way earlier this year, before her first volleyball tournament. It was her first real competition since Kamoshida’s arrest and finishing the rehab for her knee.” Ann said. “She called me the night before to talk and said some of the same things you did. That it didn’t make sense she’d be nervous about a single tournament after everything she’d been through. She even felt a little guilty about it.”

“Guilty?”

Ann nodded, her chin resting on her hands, which in turn rested on his chest. “Mm. She felt guilty that she was back playing volleyball, when so many of the other girls that the bastard went after were still in recovery, or dead, or missing… Shiho also felt guilty about being worried about it. Like her anxiety was somehow invalid.”

“Right…” The words did resonate with Ren a little.

“But the bigger part of it was that the tournament felt like a big test to Shiho. A chance to see whether or not she was whole again. A chance to take back part of herself that Kamoshida tried to steal from her. She worked herself up to the point where she thought if she lost, it would mean that Kamoshida still had some sort of control over her.”

Ren blinked; his stomach turned. _That_ was the source of the pressure. His boxing career before becoming a Phantom Thief ended right after Nationals. Everything was put on hold at that point. In a sense, everything he had done up till now in terms of boxing was just getting back to where he was. He realized then, that this could be seen as the first moment where he could actually step forward.

“...And what did you tell her?”

“I told her she’s looking at it completely wrong.” Ann said, matter-of-fact. “I told her that last year, she already figured out that time hadn’t stopped moving. Remember? When she went back to the roof in September, with you? She’s already taken her life back from that monster.”

Ren paused, recalling what Shiho had said.

_‘No. If anything, being up here just makes me realize that time never stopped, Champ. Whoever was up here before… a scared, desperate girl who didn’t want to die, but had part of her screaming at her to jump… the world moved on without her. And I think I did, too.’_

Ann continued. “So I told her that the tournament wasn’t so much her taking back her life, or resetting back to who she was. I told her that win _or_ lose, just showing up and giving it her all is progress. It’s showing the world a new and improved Shiho, one that’s even stronger than before. And I also told her that just because she’s been through something difficult or horrible doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed to feel scared or anxious about anything else. If anything, it’s a good sign. In your case, it means you’re learning to be a normal human being again instead of some masked vigilante.”

“You’re… ...You’re a really good friend to Shiho, Songbird.” Ren said, shaking his head. It was a subtle difference, but it somehow made sense. He wasn’t fighting to ‘take back his life’ from Masayoshi Shido. Shido was already a vanquished opponent. This was different… This was evolution.

Ann grinned, kissing his jaw. “I know, right? But Shiho’s a good friend too - to you. She told me that you’d probably feel the same way, eventually. So I’m telling you the same thing. Win or lose, you won’t go back to the way you were when Shido took everything from you. That Ren is gone already. The Ren in front of me… This one’s better. This one’s stronger. And even though I’m saying ‘win or lose’, this one’s going to _win._ ”

Ren nodded slowly, returning the smile. “...Right. You know what the best part about this version of Ren Amamiya is?”

Ann’s eyes sparkled in the darkness. “I think so, Wildcard. But I want to hear it.”

“This one belongs to _you_.” He murmured. Ren slipped his arms around her slender body, finding her within the confines of his sweater. She rested her forehead lightly on his own, golden hair cascading around him; her nose lightly touched his own. He tilted his head back, his mouth seeking hers.

With a soft giggle, she avoided him. She feathered kisses along the corner of his lips, his defined jaw, his cheek. Each one barely-there. Teasing, playful little touches that reminded him of what he wanted; they drove away the last vestiges of his anxiety and replaced them with a fervent need for her. 

His arms captured her about her waist as he turned into her, reversing their positions. As he captured her, as her lips parted in that intoxicating invitation, he felt that same rising thrill he felt with her from the first time in that dimly lit gym over a year ago. If anything, it was more profound, now. It was deepened by their intertwined feelings; accelerated by their intimate knowledge of each other’s hearts and bodies.

Her touch on the small of his back drew a shiver up and down his spine, driving him to bury his face against her neck. His teeth against her skin drew a bitten back gasp and a bewitching whisper of his name in his ear; her fingers tangled in the hair at the back of his head.

It turned out that physical activity was indeed the answer to insomnia.

>>>

October 6, 2017 

“Jesus, Kao-kun. You look like _shit_.” Eiji grinned, poking at Kaoru’s face.

Kaoru swatted at Eiji’s hand with uncharacteristic irritation. It was Friday afternoon at Usuda Academy, just after opening ceremonies for the All-Japan National Boxing Championship. Shujin’s four entrants - Ren, Eiji, Shou, and Kaoru - were warming up after the lengthy ceremony. At least, Ren was warming up. Kaoru was standing there with proverbial rain clouds over his head, while Shou and Eiji marveled at how terrible he looked. Kawakami and Shinoda sat nearby on the bleachers, allowing Kaname to run the show for Shujin.

“Did you sleep at _all_?” Shou asked. “And Eiji, you shouldn’t be so hard on him for looking like shit. You aren’t much better. What were you thinking, spiky hair and bleached silver? You look like you tried to go Super Saiya-jin but ended up Super Senile instead. Trying to look cool for the tournament?”

“Aw, shut up. Not like you aren’t trying to show off too. What’s with the Shirai-style undercut and pompadour, douche? What are you trying to do by cosplaying as the pro that knocked down aniki, huh?!” Eiji shot back.

The bickering was abruptly halted by two quick snaps of a shinai, smacking each of them over the head.

“Ouch!”

“Ack!”

“I think you should _both_ shut up.” Kaname said, shaking her head. “Get your asses in gear and follow your captain’s example.” Kaname said, jerking her head at Ren. The black-haired welterweight had already worked up a light sweat through dynamic stretching and shadow boxing. His focus was remarkable; even when their friends and family arrived, Ren only gave them the briefest smile and nod as he continued to warm up.

A ripple of murmurs turned Kaname’s attention to the entrance - Ann was making her into the gymnasium from the parking lot, wheeling a cooler full of drinks and snacks. The model drew quite a few eyes, especially here at the all-boy’s school that was Usuda Academy. Those eyes went from admiration and lust to outright hostility as she stopped at team Shujin, which apparently boasted not only a petite and cute head manager, but a professional model as the assistant manager (for today).

“Thanks for getting that from the van, Ann-nee. ” Kaname said, as Ann handed a bottle to Kaoru.

“Anesan! Thanks--Ow!” Shou was halted by Kaname’s shinai.

“You don’t need to rehydrate when you haven’t even warmed up, Kimura. Get back to it.”

Eiji snickered - until Kaname glared at him. “Same goes for you, Grandpa Aikawa.”

“Hah! Grandpa!” Shou shouted, as he started shadow boxing.

“It’s not grey! It’s silver!” Eiji barked.

Ann grinned. “Nice to see they’re in good form today, Kana-chan.”

Kaname rolled her eyes. “Not in the form I want. I’ve got the idiot twins up to their usual shit over there, and Iwai’s half-dead.”

Kaoru gratefully drank his energy drink. “I couldn’t sleep all night. Too nervous.” He mumbled. He eyed Ren with envy, who was wrapping up his warm-up. “I don’t know how Amamiya-senpai looks so well-rested…”

Kaname frowned. “It’s true, Iwai. When I checked in with him yesterday, I was worried. He was as anxious as you. Or more so. I wonder what he did--...”

The violet-haired first-year trailed off, eyeing Ann suspiciously. The blonde was looking off at the ceiling innocently, her delicate cheeks lined with a fetching (and guilty) rosy hue. “...Hey. Didn’t I tell you that he needed to _rest_ , and that you needed to make sure he didn’t stay up doing anything else?”

“Really? I don’t recall…” Ann mumbled, faux-thoughtfully.

Kaoru looked at Ann eagerly. “Actually, looking at senpai right now makes me wonder if I should try it, too. Is it a two-person thing? Maybe Kana-chan can help me do it--Ow! Ow ow ow! What did I say?!”

Kaname had grabbed Kaoru by the front of his Shujin jersey, pulling his head down in range for a hard noogie. Her knuckles ground the top of his head ruthlessly; her face was crimson. “NOTHING. YOU SAID NOTHING. And it’s _Coach Takeda!_ ”

“Why are you--”

“Stop asking questions, Iwai!”

Ren finished his warm-up, accepting a bottle of bright-blue sports drink from Ann. Uncaring of the jealous glares from the crowd, he smiled warmly at her. “Thanks, Songbird.”

Ann nodded. “How’s your condition, Wildcard?”

“Fighting fit!” He grinned. “Thanks to you.”

The PA system blared on overhead. “Ring A on deck. Ring B on deck.”

Kaname turned to Ren and Kaoru. “Get going. Kaoru, just as we practiced, alright? And Renpai…”

Kaname trailed off. She had seen Ren box throughout his life. Before Shido - before he lost everything - he was cocky and flashy. It was a product of talent and a feeling of invincibility. Upon his return, he was more technically sound than ever, but bore the caution of a veteran despite not fighting for the year.

But right now, the little smile on his face, almost a smirk, the relaxed set of his shoulders, and the slight strut in his walk as he headed to Ring A… It set Kaname’s heart beating in anticipation. Not a resurgence of her old crush - rather, it set her fighting spirit off. Her boxer was going to show her something.

Kaname took a few steps forward, catching up to Ren. “Renpai? What…”

Ren flashed a grin at her. To Kaname, it was almost alien. To Ann, it was like coming home.

“It’s showtime.”

>>>

October 7, 2017 

“Come on, RyuRyu! Get the lead out! Are those legs just for show?!” Shiho screamed, as Ryuji snatched the baton from his teammate, starting the final leg of the 4x400m relay and the last event of the meet. The anchor of Shujin’s track team already had a fantastic showing at the track meet, coming in second in the 100m and first in the 400m, but the relay was considered to be the ‘crown’ of this particular competition.

He was neck and neck with a boy from a high school in Shizuoka - the slender black-haired competitor was the person who had beaten Ryuji in the 100m sprint and had dogged his heels in the 400m. The 4x400m was the final chance for the two elite runners to settle the question of who was the best sprinter in the meet.

Ryuji rounded the second to last bend in the track. His rival from Shizuoka started to pull ahead.

“Mako-chan!” Shiho turned to Makoto, excitedly clapping her shoulder repeatedly. “RyuRyu needs to hear you! Come on!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Shiho.” Makoto said, glancing around in embarrassment. The track meet was being hosted at Shujin, after all. Multiple students had already stopped to greet the former student council president, taking the time to ask her about life as a Toudai undergraduate. “He’s already running as fast as he can. My yelling at him won’t help.”

“Don’t you think he’s the kind of guy that would run faster for you?” Shiho grinned.

Makoto rolled her eyes. She looked over at Ryuji’s mother, Tsubaki, seated on her opposite side for support.

Tsubaki looked thoughtful. “Well… Ryu-chan _did_ say he wanted to win today for you, Makoto-chan.”

“...He did?” Makoto asked.

Tsubaki nodded innocently. “Mmhm.”

Makoto bit her lip. She watched as Ryuji rounded the final corner. He was now a few strides behind the other boy.

Tsubaki continued casually. “He talked about it _all_ through dinner last night--”

“MOVE IT, RYUJI!” Makoto screamed, in her ‘Queen’ voice. She made both women beside her (and everyone around them) jump in surprise. “Is that all you got?! If you don’t win, I… I…” Makoto started to lose her nerve as she noticed all the eyes on her. She racked her brain for something to say, but came up empty.

Shiho leaned over, thinking quickly to take advantage of Makoto’s adrenaline-charged state. “You won’t kiss him for a week.”

“I WON’T KISS YOU FOR A WEEK!” Makoto finished, with a fist pump. She didn’t notice the gasps from the crowd around them, the looks she received from people who knew her as the ‘robot prez’.

Ryuji didn’t look over at the crowd, but he seemed to pick up the pace dramatically. His arms pumped; his knuckles were white on the baton. His face was set in a determined grin as he shot ahead, crossing the line half a stride before his rival.

“Yes!” Makoto yelled. She spun, high-fiving Shiho. “He did it! He… ...What did I just say?”

Tsubaki remained seated, looking up at Makoto with wide eyes. Her hand covered the amused smile on her face. “Oh, _my_ …”

Makoto looked at Tsubaki, thoroughly scandalized. “Tsubaki-san… I er… I…”

Ryuji’s mother beamed at Makoto. “So. Does that mean you’re going to go down there and kiss him _now_ , then? He’d really like that! And it would be very cute, Makoto-chan.”

The brunette made a strangled sound, hoping for a flash flood or alien invasion. She was, of course, disappointed. As the whistling and catcalls started, she clenched her fists, screwing her eyes shut.

“Suzui…” Makoto said, turning to Shiho. When she opened her eyes, the volleyball player was already gone. Makoto sighed. She looked back down at the track. Ryuji was surrounded by his teammates. He was laughing, high fiving one of his relay teammates before another boy threw his arms over _both_ their shoulders. He apparently felt Makoto’s gaze; her perked up, waving with a broad grin.

Makoto was still blushing from her outburst. She allowed herself a little wave back. She always thought Ryuji was good-looking in his own way, particularly with his warm, earnest smile. And now, with how happy he was after his team’s performance, he shined just a little brighter in her eyes. Her smile faded as a few kouhai from the track team approached - some girls in first and second year. They looked like they were just offering their congratulations, but it was unmistakable - they were practically fawning over him.

To Ryuji’s credit, he didn’t seem flummoxed. He smiled politely, acting and speaking like a senior member of the track team should. But, Makoto felt a pang of concern - it seemed as though her boyfriend was a little brighter in everyone else’s eyes, too.

>>>

Shiho sighed, having safely snuck away from the bleachers. It wasn’t a terribly smart move to tease Makoto, she knew - especially with the whole Kurosawa thing going on. But she needed the distraction. The reason she was available to watch the track team compete - and the reason why she was going to be watching the boxing tournament’s continuation in the afternoon - was because the volleyball team had been eliminated yesterday on the first day of the meet.

It was a miracle that Shujin’s rebooted volleyball team had even _made_ it to Nationals. After what happened last year, there almost wasn’t a volleyball team, period. Several veteran members quit the sport altogether, understandably not wanting to have anything to do with it anymore. Shiho couldn’t judge them - everyone’s path to recovery was different. She herself had almost quit. But she decided she wanted to rediscover her love of the game; she wanted to have fun playing again. And she did. She even had fun with the backbreaking effort of recruiting new members, training them, and turning them into a cohesive unit that _somehow_ made it to Nationals.

They left it all on the court - they weren’t playing for a trophy, or letters of recommendation, or for overbearing parents. They were playing for each other. After they were eliminated, there wasn’t any regret or blame - even though their early elimination meant they would not qualify for the Winter Cup. Shiho made sure there weren’t hard feelings, making sure that they went right from the debrief to a karaoke place to celebrate the end of the season. After all, no one could deny that they had a successful year.

But, it still hurt.

The captain kept it to herself, but it still hurt. As a third-year student with no chance of entering the Winter Cup tournament, it wasn’t just the end of the season. It was the end of her high school volleyball career.

Her _uwabaki_ slippers lightly tapped on the linoleum floor of Shujin Academy, empty on the weekend as she wandered the hallways alone. She ran her hand along the wall as she walked, quietly recounting her memories in the place.

In first year, she had been so happy at the start of it all. Walking into the school alongside Ann on the first day. The initial thrill of meeting Suguru Kamoshida, former Olympian and ‘friendly’ volleyball coach. Shiho shook her head bitterly. He had been so _eager_ to get to know her. And he kept asking questions about Ann, after her bestie accompanied her to practice for the first time. Questions that didn’t set off her alarm bells in the slightest at the start, so happy she was to be playing at Shujin.

_‘Suzui-san, is your friend… Ah, Ann Takamaki? Is she an athlete? She’s quite tall for a girl. Why don’t you ask if she’s interested in volleyball as well?’_

Shiho shivered. She was glad Ann didn’t have any interest in playing volleyball. And then through the first year, as she climbed the ranks to the starting line-up and Kamoshida showed her his true self, the memories blurred together. Days blended together into a cycle of abuse and fear. She frowned. Cycle was the wrong word. It was a daily descent. It was getting worse day-by-day and would have culminated in either her, Ann, or both of them being sexually assaulted.

She paused outside of 2-D, looking into the room where Ann and Ren used to sit. She smiled. But then, Ren had arrived and halted the inevitability. He talked her off the roof, led the Phantom Thieves, and he truly _cherished_ Ann. Seeing the love the two of them shared made Shiho so happy that she had to hide it under relentless teasing and sass. It just wouldn’t do to be a sniffling mess of tears all the time, even if they would be happy tears. In a way, after the Phantom Thieves’ intervention, Shiho felt like it was _her_ heart that had been changed. She had been given a second chance; a rebirth.

So what right did she have to be upset about losing a volleyball tournament?

She sighed.

_‘Blondie would tell me that I have every right to be upset.’_

Shiho came to a stop outside the trophy case on the first floor. The volleyball trophies and awards associated with Kamoshida had all been removed. In its place, a memorial for the girls who were dead, missing, or being treated for mental shutdowns after being disposed of by Kamoshida and the people protecting him.

Shiho touched the glass containing the memorial gently. _‘I hope you were all watching, somehow. I hope we did you proud, even if we didn’t win.’_ The ravenette looked up as she thought she heard an actual response; the silence was gently pushed aside. Not by a voice, though - music.

A familiar tune drifted down the hallway; she recognized it as a trumpet. The sound was golden; soft. She didn’t think the blaring trumpets of Shujin’s band could sound _soft_. Curious, she followed the sound towards the band room.

To her brief disappointment, the trumpet faded to nothing - only to be replaced by a singing voice. She knew now why she recognized the song. It was one of Ren’s favorites; she had heard him sing it before, on the talent show video from the Amamiya family’s inn. But Ren’s voice was different - his was pleasant to listen to, but less refined, less practiced. The boxer used that to his advantage, adding a sandpaper and smoke quality to his sound.

This was far, far different. The voice now was smooth and silky, soft and sonorous. It reflected perfectly the lovelorn lyrics of the song.

 _They’re writing songs of love_ _  
__But not for me_ _  
__A lucky star’s above_ _  
__But not for me..._

Fascinated, Shiho carefully slid open the already-ajar door to the band room.

Her breath caught in her chest.

Ryoichi Kurosawa was seated on a desk he had pushed up beside the window, with his trumpet in hand. The autumn sun highlighted his profile in _just_ the right way. He sported the updated Shujin uniform; he wore the tie like Ren and most of the other non-uptight boys, loose with the top few buttons popped. His blazer had been carelessly tossed over a music stand. As always, he was pretty. Almost annoyingly pretty. At least Ren was gaining some element of ruggedness; and he was always athletic.

Kurosawa… especially as he sang, was simply poetry.

 _I was a fool to fall and get that way_ _  
__Heigh-ho, alas, and also, lack-a-day_  
 _Although I can’t dismiss the memory of her kiss_ _  
I guess she’s not for me…_

He raised the trumpet to his lips again, starting in on the instrument again. Shiho found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. It wasn’t that she wasn’t aware of his looks - as she had so emphatically told Haru and Makoto, she considered the boy at least as good-looking as Ren. But he seemed like a playboy, even if he was nothing but a gentleman in his interactions with Shiho. He just didn’t seem to take anything seriously. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was actually one of the reasons why Shiho didn’t mind his daily confessions. He wasn’t overly pushy or dramatic… he wasn’t creepy. It was perfectly light-hearted.

But right now, it looked like he was pouring his soul into his trumpet and voice. It looked like the only thing that existed was the instrument; he cradled it like a lover.

Shiho felt like she was seeing him for the first time.

So enraptured was the volleyball player that she completely missed her moment to leave unnoticed. Kurosawa finished the song, lowering the trumpet as he turned to look right at her.

Shiho turned beet red. She stammered (actually stammered!). “Er… I… ...You.. … ...So, you’re pretty good at blowing that thing.”

Kurosawa raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, you’re good at using your mouth.”

Kurosawa pursed his lips, his eyes twinkling.

“You.. ...God, just _say_ something! How can you not! Didn’t you just hear how stupid I just sounded?!” Shiho snapped, balling her fists up at her hips.

Kurosawa chuckled. “Target confusion.”

Shiho blinked. That was one of _her_ lines. “...R-right.” She stepped into the room, taking a seat on another desk. “...You are pretty good, though.”

“Thanks, Suzui-san.” Kurosawa replied. He carefully put his trumpet away. “Great job at the tournament, by the way.”

Shiho blinked. “...You were there?”

Kurosawa nodded. “Mm. I went to Kosei to watch. Great job.”

Shiho shook her head. “We got crushed. We lost every game. That’s not a great job, that’s--”

“That’s not really what I meant, Suzui-san. You carried your team. Not just in terms of play, but in terms of spirit. Even though you lost, they all kept smiling because _you_ kept smiling. They gave it their all because their captain never gave up. You were your team’s heart.” Kurosawa said. “You could see that everyone felt terrible, but because of you, they got something positive from it.”

Shiho bit her lip. “...Yeah. I mean, we had no reason to be unhappy, right? We were there. We made the Nationals when everyone counted us out right from the start. So really, it’s not a big deal.”

Kurosawa shook his head. “I said you did a great job by being your team’s heart, Suzui-san. You’re strong, but you don’t have to lie.”

“I don’t have any right to be upset about losing--”

“You’ve worked your butt off all year. I can see how much you love volleyball. You have _every_ right to be upset.” Kurosawa said, surprisingly serious. “...I would be upset, too.”

For some reason, at his words - the words so similar to what Ann would have said - everything came crashing down at once. All the walls she put up for the sake of the kouhai on her team; all her responsibilities as captain. All the responsibilities that she no longer had. Her high school volleyball career was over. She would never again have to… No. She would never again _get to_ be strong for this group of teammates. She would never again get to be their heart. She would never get to play with this group of athletes who put everything on the line for each other.

She burst into tears. Her shoulders shook; she sobbed helplessly into her hands.

She heard a faint rustle of movement - a moment later, she quieted as Kurosawa drew her into a hug.

Shiho always worried how she’d react to a moment like this. Would she freeze up, like the day at the beach? Would she kick the guy in the crotch, like she had when she was protecting Haru in front of the hospital the day her father had a mental shutdown? She did neither.

To her surprise… Kurosawa felt _safe_. He wasn’t making a move on her; he just… supported her. She cried into his shirt until she didn’t have to anymore - until her tears were gone, and the wellspring of grief was dry, and all that was left was his warmth against her, and his arms holding her… Holding her together.

She pushed away from him, willing the heat away from her neck and ears. “...Thanks, Kurosawa.”

Kurosawa just nodded.

Shiho turned away. “I’ll see you around.” She paused at the doorway, glancing back at him. “...No daily confession?”

Kurosawa shrugged. “Doesn’t seem like the appropriate time.”

Shiho wiped the last couple tears from her eyes. She gave him a wry smile. “You could be missing out, you know. Never know what I might say.”

Kurosawa blinked. “Oh. Well, in that case. I like you. Will you go out with me--”

“Let’s stay friends.” Shiho interrupted, grinning.

Kurosawa laughed. “Heh.”

Shiho turned, waving a hand without looking back. “...For now.”

>>>

October 9, 2017 

“Keep up the pressure, Iwai!” Kaname shouted, smacking the canvas with her palms. “He’s about to break!”

 _‘He certainly is.’_ Thought Mari Minoru, watching from the bleachers. The red-haired sports reporter watched as Kaoru Iwai, the first-year featherweight from Shujin, bobbed and weaved around the desperate fending jabs of his opponent in the featherweight finals - a relatively unknown fighter by the name of Taro Satou. The boy from… ...from…

Mari grimaced, her memory failing her.

The boy from _Whatever_ High School had only made it to the finals due to the sudden withdrawal of Hiroto Kobayashi from the tournament after the quarterfinals. It was against another infighter - one far less refined than Kaoru Iwai. The boy had been thoroughly trounced by Kobayashi, who seemed eager to engage his opponent and dominate him at close range. But that, combined with his opponent’s sloppy guard, had been Kobayashi’s undoing. Kobayashi had won in a TKO, but in the final salvo - a high speed exchange of close-in slips and punches - the blonde second-year’s right straight caught on his opponent’s guard just as the less experienced boxer fumbled his footwork and tripped. It resulted in a freak accident wrist sprain for Kobayashi, just as the referee called the match in his favor. It also resulted in a bye for Taka… Taro… ?

Mari frowned. For _Someone_ Satou. For the most part, she had no interest in the high school beat and didn’t bother looking into most of the fighters. The majority didn’t have aspirations beyond the high school level, and their technique reflected it. Really, she was only here to keep an eye on her ‘investment’ - Ren Amamiya - as well as two other notables - one of them Kobayashi. Initially it irritated her that a third of her reason for being here was gone. From her research, Kobayashi was an outboxer - it was unusual for him to engage anyone in close range. He was also known to be cocky and flashy, dancing around his opponents. And yet, he had willingly engaged in a close-in mud fight against an infighter.

Now that she was watching the featherweight finals, she understood why Kobayashi had taken the risk - _practice._ He defeated Iwai at the summer Inter-High, but the rookie featherweight left enough of an impression on Kobayashi that he apparently wanted to be ready for him. She smiled slightly, her irritation fading as she watched the match. Iwai almost effortlessly closed the distance in spite of the jabs sent in his direction, backing Satou off - right into a corner.

 _‘That’s the match.’_ Mari thought, her SLR whirring and clicking as she took pictures. Even if Shinji Takeda’s daughter wasn’t present at ringside, screaming her lungs out at her fighter, Mari would have recognized that fighting style. The journalist wasn’t old enough to have watched Shinji Takeda box in person, but she had certainly seen the tapes - and Iwai was like watching the film come to life. Iwai was always advancing, using a combination of compact, powerful punches and relentless pressure to force opponents into corners and mistakes.

Satou swung wide with a left hook - a panicked, sloppy attempt at a check hook to reverse their positions.

Iwai ducked the hook, and then _hammered_ Satou with a vicious uppercut to the solar plexus. The teen immediately doubled over, falling to the mat with a groan. The referee immediately waved and crossed his arms, signalling for the bell. Mari raised an eyebrow, taking another picture as Kaname charged into the ring, throwing her arms around the newly crowned featherweight champion - before promptly letting go, turning red, and smacking his shoulder repeatedly while yelling something at him.

 _‘Impressive. Hard to find a pro who can take someone out with just a body blow, let alone a high schooler…’_ Mari made a mental note to keep tabs on Iwai, adding the intriguing young fighter to her list of high school fighters who in her mind were actually worth a damn.

She watched as the ring was cleared for the welterweight finals. Ren Amamiya approached from the ‘on deck’ area, sporting Shujin’s red and white jersey and shorts, black boxing gloves with crimson highlights, and a blue armband tied around his left bicep to assign him to the blue corner for the match.

Prior to Amamiya’s ‘dropping in’ on her apartment, Mari didn’t have much professional interest in him. She knew _of_ Ren Amamiya, certainly. Obviously, there was his arrangement with her friend, Ichiko Ohya. Mari didn’t know the details, but it had caused Ichiko to call her to ensure that _Boxing Fan_ didn’t publish anything further about Amamiya while they were still working on whatever her project was. And of course, there was the incident where one of her over-eager kouhai went ahead and published an article anyway about Amamiya and his girlfriend. That had bothered the hell out of Mari not only because it broke her promise to her friend, but also because it was shoddy journalism, in her opinion. She hated reporting on scandals that were only peripherally related to sports.

...And that was actually why Mari had some _personal_ interest in Amamiya. When she had just started at _Boxing Fan_ after transferring from another publication, her editor had pressured her to write what she felt was a pointless exercise in sensationalism. Just some article highlighting how an up and coming boxer had assaulted a politician. Mari caved, assuming that the article would be quickly forgotten. She had been surprised at how much traction the piece got; it contributed to ruining that boxer’s reputation.

That boxer of course, was Amamiya.

After Shido confessed, none of that mattered anymore. That, coupled with a winning record and upstanding behavior, had turned everything around for Amamiya. And _technically,_ Mari hadn’t done anything wrong - she presented the available information at the time, which included the published police reports and witness statements. But, it nagged at her, even before the truth came out. It was part of the reason why she agreed to do Ichiko that favor. And it was part of the reason why she wanted exclusive interview rights to the teen. She felt she owed him, and wanted to write about him in a positive light. His sudden appearance on her balcony had been well-timed. Fortunately he didn’t seem to know that she wrote the original article.

But, that was _personal._ In terms of boxing, his record was impeccable. And his return to the ring had been spectacular, defeating his opponent only with his left. After that though, Amamiya had strung together his winning record in an almost mechanical fashion - he adapted well to each opponent he faced, using textbook boxing technique and the caution of a veteran. While it was sound, it wasn’t uncommon. While Mari had only been writing for _Boxing Fan_ for eighteen months, she had been a fan and student of the sport for ages. She had seen dozens of boxers like Amamiya come through and amount to nothing.

Amamiya climbed into the ring, his gloved hands cutting the air as he stood in his corner. Today, though, he was showing everyone something else. Physically, he seemed less like precision machinery. There was something different in how he carried himself… On the surface, it was almost languid. She would have called it relaxed, if it weren’t for the sense of _threat_ in his stance.

 _‘Not so much precision machine as a coiled viper, now…’_ Mari mused. His performance in the ring hadn’t changed much, though. None of his opponents were really up to the task of bringing out more from Ren Amamiya. But _someone_ had lit a fire under the young boxer. She suspected it had at least something to do with the black eye he sported when he landed on her balcony, and probably something to do with the blonde model watching from the front row. Apparently she was seeing something change as well, with the way she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, her fingers interlaced in front of her mouth.

_‘Well. If anyone can bring out Amamiya's potential, it’ll be Fuji.’_

Yoshiaki Fuji took the red corner to raucous cheers. Like Kobayashi, he was from Usuda Academy and thus carried the ‘home ring advantage’. He was the other ‘notable’ on Mari’s list.

“Kick his ass, Fuji-senpai!”

“Ugly up his face for him! His girl’s watching, haha!”

Fuji didn’t acknowledge the cheers. He was focused. From Mari’s research, the Usuda welterweight was deadly serious about boxing; he had already taken and passed the pro exam. The young man had already committed to starting his pro career just a month after the Winter Cup. Like everyone from the Usuda team, he was technically sound. His preferred style was well-suited to the pro-ring, a hybrid boxer-puncher. In an interview with one of her colleagues, the young man said his ideal fighter was ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson, the American great.

Mari readied her camera to capture the fight between the two fighters on her short list.

_‘Give me something to write home about, boys…’_

>>>

Fuji returned to his corner after the end of the second round; sweat covered his body. The Usuda captain didn’t take anyone in the ring lightly; it wasn’t in his nature to be cocky. But, he thought he had a handle on Amamiya. There were odd rumours and circumstances floating around him, of course. A supposed sparring match against Mamoru Yamanaka; another one against some up and comer in Hawaii of all places. And there was his return match against Setoguchi that everyone knew about.

But since then, Amamiya had been purely textbook. Fuji could handle that; he was nearly a pro, beyond the level of a high school ‘technician’. He had managed to watch the Shujin captain’s semi-final match. As Fuji predicted, Amamiya picked apart his opponent’s mistakes, opening up his guard with sharp counters and capitalizing with a powerful overhand right. So, during the first two rounds, Fuji matched up well against Amamiya - he didn’t give the Shujin captain any clean openings for counters, didn’t overcommit on any punches. They had each taken only a few clean punches; they were probably close on points.

Fuji sat down on the stool placed in his corner, sipping the offered water. “What are you seeing, Coach?”

Usuda’s head trainer - an actual teacher, as opposed to Shujin’s pint-sized first-year student - clapped his shoulder. “Looking good, Fuji-kun. You’ve got a slight edge in points by my count. He’s a counter-puncher, and it’s hurting him right now.”

Fuji nodded. “He’s planning to cut me down with that chopping right the second I make a mistake.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t make mistakes then, Fuji-kun.”

He didn’t. But that’s because his instincts were good - and those same instincts were unsettled. It was the reason why he was sweating so profusely. It wasn’t the first time he had fought a counter-puncher… There was always an underlying sense of danger. A threat of turning the match around in a single punch. But this was on a whole other level.

_‘It feels like I’m playing with a live grenade…’_

Even in the opposite corner, the ring felt small. Amamiya wasn’t glaring at him, but he seemed to be tracking his every motion. He had the _slightest_ little smile on his face.

Fuji shook off the feeling of being hunted. The bell rang, signifying the third and final round.

Only his experience and honed reflexes prevented him from getting clocked immediately. Amamiya charged out from his corner uncharacteristically, hard jabs and straights slamming into Fuji’s guard. The counter-puncher was coming at him like a swarmer, but from mid to long range.

Fuji didn’t panic, though - nor did he try to capitalize with an ill-advised counter to this apparent wild rush.

 _‘Even this is tactics. He’s still trying to bait out an opportunity to counter!’_ Despite the power and speed of the barrage, the punches were all well controlled and compact. Amamiya was keeping himself in position for a knockout blow as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Eventually though, the Shujin captain would tire; hammering someone’s guard endlessly just wasn’t possible. Fuji just had to hold on, and then he’d be able to take the pace again. He grimaced, a particularly hard right straight battering his wrist hard enough to transmit force into his headgear.

_‘Just need to hold on. He can’t do this forever. Don’t just strike out at him. He wants a counter.’_

A vicious left hook smashed into his right hand, again hard enough to knock Fuji’s own hand into his head.

_‘...hold on. Guard.’_

“Fuji!” Tomiya-sensei was yelling something. Fuji couldn’t spare the attention. It was taking all of his focus to bear the brunt of the storm. His vision narrowed in on Amamiya; the black-haired boxer seemed to fill his sight.

He grunted as Amamiya closed in, switching to infighting tactics and short hooks and uppercuts to the body. He didn’t dare lower his guard; the moment he did, a chopping right would greet his head. Fuji grunted - the body blows were hard, but he had to bear it. He couldn’t afford to lower this guard to stop them.

_‘Fuck… hurts. Hold…’_

“...uji! Fuji! You have to…”

_‘Can’t hear… What…?’_

“Break! Break!” The referee yelled, stepping forward and separating the fighters.

 _‘...Did he foul? Is one of us cut…?’_ Fuji thought. He tried to blink away some sweat that was blurring his vision; he wiped at his face. Somehow, that was challenging. Likely due to the gloves and headgear. He shook his head, starting to step forward. He halted - for some reason the referee was in his face, holding up his fingers. He was… counting?

“Four! Five!” It was hard to hear over a high pitched whine. His ears were ringing, he realized.

“Wh…?” He looked over at his corner. It felt like his vision was lagging half a second behind the movement of his head.

Tomiya-sensei was screaming something at him.

“...UJI! Fuji, it’s a standing eight!” Fukui-sensei was slamming his hands on the canvas. “Wake up! Snap out of it!”

The world came roaring back to Fuji. His eyes widened.

“Fuji-kun! There isn’t a counter coming! Amamiya’s going to fight it out! You have to take back the pace!”

“Seven! Eight!” The referee shouted. “Step forward and show me your stance, Fuji!”

Fuji nodded grimly. He should have seen it - the tactic was simple, but brilliant. Amamiya had spent the first two rounds using his own preconceptions of what the Shujin captain’s boxing was against him. Amamiya had made it appear as though he was trying to bait out an opportunity for a counter. From the beginning, he had no intention of just countering what Fuji threw out - instead, he had imposed his will on the match. He had dictated the flow, and now he was trying to capitalize.

But the cat was out of the bag. Fuji took his stance and stepped forward, nodding at the referee.

 _‘If Amamiya wants to punch it out, then I’m game.’_ Fuji was a hybrid boxer - he could mix it up as well as anyone.

“Box!” The referee waved his arms.

To Fuji’s surprise, Amamiya didn’t charge ahead. Instead, he took his characteristic hitman stance, his left a shade lower than the usual orthodox, his right poised for that vicious overhand. And despite the fact that he hadn’t managed to finish Fuji in the rush, he _still_ smiled. It wasn’t a mocking smirk - it was anticipation, Fuji realized with a chill.

The Usuda captain started to step forward.

His legs felt like lead. The physical and mental toll of ‘playing with a live grenade’ for two rounds, coupled with the body blows and punches over his guard in that last rush had finally set in, sapping his energy.

Amamiya slid into range. Flicker jabs lashed into Fuji’s face like whips, lashing his head back as Usuda’s captain tried to mount any kind of counter-attack. He was certainly behind on points, now. He needed a knockdown to stand a chance; likely a knockout to realistically win. Desperation and sluggish, heavy legs led to wide swings that were roundly punished by the lightning flash that was his opponent.

His vision was greying out from the punches and stress. But there was one more strategy. One more thing to exploit. Amamiya’s Sunday punch.

In a risky move, he let himself take a flicker jab full on - it snapped his head back, away from his left guard. A half-heartbeat delay. The chopping right was coming.

Fuji threw his head and neck further back, raising his chin. The leather grazed his headgear as it shot by. Amamiya was _wide_ open for a left. Fuji dropped into a southpaw stance to deliver a left straight right into his face.

His _smiling face._

Fuji realized too late that there was a counter after all.

>>>

Mari’s SLR whirred rapidly as she held the button down, staring in disbelief as Amamiya’s chopping right flew past Fuji’s face. Fuji was clearly talented; putting himself in harm’s way to draw out a chopping right from the fast, powerful Amamiya was borderline suicidal. But Usuda’s captain pulled it off. Fuji adroitly slid his left foot back as he dodged the overhand blow by a hair, preparing to drive a left straight into Amamiya’s face at the worst possible moment. Against any other high schooler, it would have been a brilliant counter.

But Amamiya was already gone, leaning to his left.

With his weight shifted to his leading foot, his entire body whipped around like a corkscrew as his left arm sliced up in a three-quarter punch, something between a hook and uppercut. The punch shot into the gap in Fuji’s guard, striking him directly in the jaw. The almost-pro crumpled to the canvas, knocked out cleanly.

The home crowd was silenced as the referee almost immediately waved for the bell; Usuda trainers rushed into the ring alongside the fight doctor. Mari stared blankly, her eyes fixed on Amamiya as he celebrated with his corner. As he left the ring, Ann Takamaki pounced on him, uncaring of the sweat and boxing gloves.

_‘A smash… That wasn’t improvised. It was too clean. Was he creating the opening for that…?’_

It was too fluid. There was no way that Amamiya could have known that Fuji would step into southpaw against his chopping right. That wasn’t a chess match counter of a technician. It was something simpler; something like instinct, perhaps.

Mari grinned, her hands almost shaking, _itching_ for her keyboard. She definitely had something to write about.

>>>

“Kanpai!”

Shujin’s boxing team had reason to celebrate - Ren and Kaoru had taken their respective divisions, and both Eiji and Shou had gotten as far as the semi-finals in theirs, losing hard-fought decisions. Despite the loss, the two ‘idiot twins’ (as Kaname called them) were leading the celebration, currently singing up a storm on the microphones in the biggest room that the karaoke place had. And a big celebration it was - all ten members of the boxing team were present, along with Kaname. Also in attendance were several members of the Phantom Thieves’ family, represented by Ryuji, Makoto, Shiho, Ann and Futaba.

“Hell of a fight, Kaoru!” Ryuji grinned, raising his glass to the first-year before playfully punching his shoulder. “I had to take pictures for your dad by the end of it. He kept dropping his phone so he could bob and weave and punch along with you! It was _hilarious_.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, Sakamoto-senpai. Hilarious.” Kaoru mumbled. He was barely listening. His eyes were utterly focused on one person. The first-year was completely, utterly captivated. Kaname turned to him - and rolled her eyes. He was staring at Ren, who was chatting with a few members of the boxing team. The featherweight boxer looked utterly starstruck; Ren’s performance in the welterweight finals had left quite an impression on him.

Kaname grumbled from her seat at the large table. “Now I know how you feel, Ann-nee.”

Ann, sitting beside her, squeezing Kaname’s knee sympathetically. “It gets easier, Kana-chan. If Kaoru-kun’s anything like Ren, at the very least he won’t have eyes for other _girls_.”

Kaname snorted. “I guess that’s fine.” She shook her head, looking over at Ren herself. “That was pretty incredible. I didn’t train him to be a pressure-fighter. He was always a technician, before his arrest. Even if he was a flashy one. But this looked _way_ more natural. Wonder where he picked it up from…?”

The former Phantom Thieves present exchanged glances - it really was. But to them, hardly surprising. If Ren had been wearing a tailcoat and mask, he would have looked remarkably like Joker. But, Kaname wasn’t ‘in the know’. While she could be trusted, there wasn’t any reason to expose her to the risk of knowing who the Phantom Thieves were.

Makoto shifted Kaname’s focus. “Pressure-fighter?”

Kaname nodded. “Mm. A type of boxing. People associate it most with infighting or swarming, but that isn’t completely correct. Pressure boxing doesn’t mean you’re constantly punching or moving forward, though it can be. It’s actually more psychological than anything else. The most accurate description is that you’re making your opponent constantly have to react to you.”

“So, the opposite of counter-punching?” Ryuji asked.

“Kind of.” Kaname frowned. “It’s not to say if you’re doing one you can’t do the other. In that last fight, Renpai used both. He kept up an aggressive posture, like he was trying to bait Fuji into an opportunity to deliver the counter. His opponent was so concerned with a chopping right counter that he got tunnel vision from it. He couldn’t see that he was wasting his energy… It’s how Renpai broke down a boxer who’s slated to go pro next year. The _threat_ of a counter turned into a better weapon than the counter itself.”

“Though, there was still a counter in the end, Takeda-san.”

The group looked up at the door to the room.

A pretty Japanese woman with dark red hair and thick-framed glasses framing her light brown eyes stood at the doorway, dressed in fitted jeans, leather jacket, and a dark green t-shirt. She smiled, nodding politely at the group. “Hello. Sorry to interrupt. I’m Mari Minoru, from _Boxing Fan_. Congratulations!”

Eiji grinned eagerly, waving at the journalist. “Oh! Are you looking for an interview?! I’m totally available.”

Shou shoved him aside playfully. “Sit down and rest a bit, Gramps. It’s _Shou-_ time.”

“I _told_ you, my hair is silver, not _grey_!”

Mari waved a hand apologetically. “Ah, I’m sorry. I already have a few interviews lined up with Amamiya-kun, actually… I was hoping to have a quick word with him, actually.”

Ren approached, looking surprised. “It couldn’t wait, Minoru-san?”

“You were just a little too interesting in the finals, Amamiya-kun.” Mari replied, with a little smirk. “I had to come see you immediately.”

Eiji gaped at what he thought was a flirtatious smile. “Seriously?! Damn, aniki. How many beautiful women do you _need_ —oof!”

Ann ‘accidentally’ elbowed Eiji in the ribs as she materialized at Ren’s side, casually holding onto his elbow. “That sounds fine, Minoru-san. Let’s all chat right over there.”

Ann, Ren, Kaname and Mari sat down at a smaller table in the karaoke room. The celebration continued for everyone else, though the group was joined by a curious Kaoru. Ren looked at Ann, a bemused expression on his face as she hugged his arm against herself. 

Mari pulled a tablet out of her messenger bag. “I want you to have a look at some pictures from the fight, Amamiya-kun. I’m curious about something.”

Ren took the offered tablet - it was a series of images of the last few moments of his bout against Fuji. He raised an eyebrow, coming to a stop of one picture in particular - it was a shot of his final punch, his left-handed smash. Mari had zoomed in on Ren’s feet, circling his left foot in red as he delivered the finishing blow. It was firmly planted to the outside of Fuji’s leading right leg.

“You took an outside position on a fighter in southpaw.” Mari pointed at the foot she had circled.

“That’s not terribly unusual.” Ren said, shaking his head. “It’s pretty textbook.”

“There wasn’t anything textbook about how you did it, Amamiya-kun.” Mari replied. “Fuji isn’t a known southpaw boxer. I checked. He hasn’t tried that in any of his previous matches. How did you have such a perfect counter for that?”

Ren frowned. “It wasn’t really planned, Minoru-san. It just seemed right. Kana-chan can take credit for the smash, though.”

“Smash?” Kaoru asked, eagerly. He stood, mimicking the punch. “It was something between a hook and uppercut, right?”

“Shift your weight more.” Kaname said, glancing at Kaoru’s feet. She looked back at Mari. “It’s something I’ve been working on with Renpai for the past few months. He favors his chopping right, but it was a matter of time before someone managed to dodge it. It leaves him wide open if he puts his full weight behind the punch. So teaching him the smash was a natural evolution from that… The chopping right shifts his weight to his leading left foot, giving him a solid pivot for a left-handed punch.”

Mari eyed Kaname critically. She chuckled, after a moment. “Like father, like daughter? It’s hard to believe you’re just a first-year student, Takeda-san. Or should I say Coach Takeda?”

Kaname smiled slightly. She pointed at the picture. “I didn’t teach him that, though. If Fuji had been in orthodox stance, I would have scolded Renpai for stepping too wide. But if he placed his foot where we practiced, he would have just gotten tangled up with Fuji’s leading foot.”

“So you didn’t plan on it being a counter for a southpaw, but it was perfect for a southpaw counter?” Mari asked, frowning.

Ann rolled her eyes. “It’s pretty obvious what’s going on, guys.”

Mari blinked at the friendly blonde’s change in tone. She sounded irritated - for a moment, she assumed it was jealousy. After all, she was still possessively clinging to Ren’s arm. To her surprise, though, there was a fair portion of affection mixed in with the annoyance as Ann looked at Ren.

“You were moving on instinct for the last round, weren’t you? You looked like… ... _before_.” Ann finished, thinking of the Metaverse. “It only makes sense that the moment you saw someone in southpaw, you reacted instantly. Your body knew what to do because most of the time when you shadow box, you shadow box against an image of Mamoru Yamanaka.”

“Heh. Yeah….” Ren said, looking a little embarrassed. “That’s true.”

“That’s right. You sparred with him last summer.” Mari nodded. She smiled wryly at Ren’s almost besotted expression, feeling a pang of sympathy for Ann. “I didn’t realize you were such a big fan.”

“Mmhm! He even signed some gloves for me.” Ren grinned. He fished out his phone, swiping to a picture of the gloves hanging on the wall at Leblanc.

“‘Nice right hook, Amamiya-kun. Hope to see you in the pro ring someday’...” Mari said. “...Amamiya-kun. Were you aware that Yamanaka rarely signs anything? And if he does, it’s usually just his name?”

“Yes! That’s why these gloves are _amazing_.” Ren beamed. “And really encouraging, too.”

“He also switched to your weight-class.” Mari said. “Did you ever stop to consider that it means something…?”

“We tried bringing that up with Ren before, Minoru-san.” Ann sighed. “He doesn’t see it.”

“Then, maybe he should see this.” Mari replied. She reached over, swiping the tablet a few more times. “This is a picture from the Inter-high Tournament at the start of the summer. Do you recognize this man, here?” She indicated the bespectacled man standing beside a companion in a baseball cap and sunglasses.

“...Oh! That’s Taka Hirose, Yamanaka-san’s trainer. Why would he watch a high school tournament… ...Holy shit. The guy in the cap and sunglasses. That’s Mamoru Yamanaka.”

“This was just days before Yamanaka announced he was relinquishing the lightweight title to switch to welter, Amamiya-kun.” Mari said. “Yamanaka is an unusual man. In the ring, he’s a formidable champion. The best Japan’s ever produced… He’s even entering the conversation as one of the best boxing champions _period_ . Outside the ring, he’s almost passive. He won’t showboat. He won’t trash talk. People have to _beg_ him to do endorsements. The only thing he cares about is evolving as a fighter.”

Mari huffed. “He even backs out of interview engagements at the drop of a hat, as you know. So for him… Signing your gloves, watching you fight, and then changing weight classes… I think it’s safe to say that he’s taken a certain interest in you.”

“That’s absurd.” Ren said, shaking his head. “Yamanaka-san is a champion. He doesn’t have to challenge people.”

“I’m not saying he’s directly challenging you.” Mari said. “But I think he’s placing himself in the best position to be on a collision course with you. You’ve met him. Wouldn’t you say he’s the sort to cast the die, but then let the universe decide? My guess is that he’s going to take the welterweight championship. And then he’s going to defend it like he defended lightweight. If you don’t go pro, I don’t think he’s going to chase you down. But if you _do_ go pro, well… I think he’d be disappointed if you didn’t meet him in the ring.”

>>>

As Mari spoke to Ren, Makoto frowned. Ryuji had stepped outside several minutes ago to take a call from one of his teammates and still hadn’t returned. She hadn’t seen him since his big win at the track meet and wanted to spend as much time with him as possible on one of her rare evenings off from her university obligations and her part-time job.

She tugged on her leather jacket - something that Ann helped her pick out a little while ago - and headed outside of the karaoke place to find him. She spotted him across the road, under a streetlamp. His conversation carried through the night air clearly to Makoto. She smiled slightly; quiet conversation wasn’t really his forte. She didn’t mind. It made it feel like his soft-spoken voice belonged just to her.

“Oh, sorry man. Haven’t seen your jacket since before the meet. ...What? Naw, man, I can’t make it to a mixer tonight. I’m out with my friends and girlfriend.”

Makoto paused, her foot just about to step off the curb to walk over to him. She backed up, into the shadows of the karaoke place’s doorway. She nearly backed right into Shiho.

“Oh! Sorry, Mako-chan.” Shiho said. She quieted, on seeing that Makoto was watching Ryuji.

“No. I’m not going, bro. That’s final. Tell the girls I’m taken. Like you should have from the start.” Ryuji said, sounding annoyed.

“Heh. RyuRyu’s grown up a little, hasn’t he?” Shiho said, smiling. “There was a time where he might have agonized a bit over deciding whether or not to go to a mixer.”

Makoto nodded, frowning. “He’s… really learned to listen to his heart.”

“Then why the long face?”

Makoto shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

“Could be. But friends are there to listen to each other. Stupid or not.” Shiho shrugged. “...And come to think of it, _boyfriends_ are supposed to be there to listen, too. Also stupid or not. And if he’s listening to that heart of his now… Well. I don’t think you’ll have much to worry about, Mako-chan.”

“You’re a good friend, Shiho.” Makoto said. She started to head over to Ryuji. “I can see what Kurosawa-kun sees in you.”

Shiho scoffed. “Come off it. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Makoto shrugged. She casually waved a hand over her shoulder. “...For now.”

Shiho paled as Makoto perfectly replicated her last gesture and words to Kurosawa the other day. “H-hey! Nothing happened! It didn’t mean anything!”

Makoto didn’t reply, just smiling slightly as she crossed the street. Ryuji noticed her, smiling at her as he hung up.

“Sorry, Makoto. The guys from the team were being kinda stupid. They kept hasslin’ me to go to a mixer with some girls who were at the track meet the other day.” Ryuji said. He blinked. “Oh. Not that I’m trying to brag or something…”

“I know you aren’t.” Makoto murmured. She stopped in front of Ryuji, sighing quietly.

“Then… are you… upset?”

She shook her head. “Not really. Sometimes, I just feel a little guilty.”

“What do you mean?” Ryuji asked.

“You’ve worked really hard this year, Ryuji. In both track and in school. You’re becoming more popular, and it shows.” Makoto said. “I’m not surprised that your teammates want to hang out with you. And I wasn’t surprised when those girls came up to you after the relay, too.” Makoto smiled slightly, forestalling Ryuji’s stammered assurance that his relationship with the girls on the track team was purely platonic. “...I think I feel guilty for two reasons. First, because I almost miss last year, around the time we started dating. It was like you were my own little secret. But now, everyone’s figuring out how great you are.”

“Me?” Ryuji blushed, kicking at the ground. “I’m nothin’ special, Makoto. I mean, I just followed Takemi-sensei and Hayakawa-sensei’s advice on how to rehab my leg. And Shiho, too. And you’re the one who helps me with school, remember? And you were the one that encouraged me to get back into track, too.”

Makoto chuckled softly. She glanced around, ensuring no one was looking before she affectionately stroked his cheek. “I think _you’re_ the only one who hasn’t figured out how special you are, Ryuji.”

Ryuji caught her hand. He squeezed her fingers gently. “Thanks, Makoto. You’re pretty special too, you know? All the guys wonder how I’m dating a Toudai girl.”

Makoto shook her head. “Toudai… All I do is study lately. The second reason I feel guilty… You blew off your teammates because you have a girlfriend. I’m a university student that you don’t get to see very much. Don’t you… don’t you feel like you’re missing out? I mean--”

“Makoto…” Ryuji shook his head. He clasped both of her hands. “I can’t even _think_ of anyone but you.”

“...Oh.” Makoto blushed. She peered up at him, smiling, before shyly dropping her gaze again.

“Heh ...So, remember the meet? How you cheered?”

Makoto felt mortified. “How could I forget? I can’t believe I said that… …” She trailed off, eyeing her boyfriend suspiciously. He was looking off to the side; his face was as flushed as hers felt. “Why are you bringing that up now, Ryuji?”

“Well. You said if I didn’t win, you wouldn’t kiss me for a week. I won, and I haven’t seen you since the meet. So… ...Does that mean you’ll kiss me _now_?”

“We’re… we’re out in _public_ , Ryuji!”

“No one’s around.” Ryuji grinned. “...Senpai.”

Makoto made a noise between a squeak and gasp. She turned another shade of red as she gave him a stern glare. “...It’s almost insulting how you think that works all the time, Ryuji.”

Ryuji couldn’t maintain the cocky grin - he wasn’t Ren, after all. “...Ah, nevermind. Sorry. I was just kidding--Mm!”

Makoto took hold of his purple hoody, pulling him down and cutting him off with a quick kiss. Afterwards, she smiled at Ryuji’s pleased/confused/shocked expression, carefully smoothing out his sweater. “I said it’s _almost_ insulting, Ryuji.”

>>>

Late in the evening, Ann snuggled up against Ren on his couch. The two of them watched a replay of Yamanaka vs. Sanchez, the fight that earned the Japanese boxer his title match against Danny Porter in December. She reached out, touching his hand as he reached for the mouse to scroll back a few seconds in the fight.

“Wildcard…” Ann said, gently. “Don’t you think you’ve studied this fight enough? We have school tomorrow.”

Ren sighed. “I know. I’m still having trouble believing what Minoru-san was saying.”

Ann shook her head. “Maybe your mind’s having trouble. But I think your heart’s known for a while, Ren. Like I said, it’s in your shadow boxing. And it was in the way you won in the finals today. Even if your head doesn’t believe it, your heart and body have been preparing for a fight against Mamoru Yamanaka.”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” Ren said. He closed his laptop. “And back in March, I even told you I wanted to see if my potential would allow me to fight Yamanaka-san on even footing. But I don’t think I ever believed it could actually happen.” He grinned. “Can you imagine that? Me, in a world title match?”

Ann looked at her boyfriend, considering him. In the tournament, particularly in the finals, Ren was different. Prior to Nationals, he looked like a dominant, technically sound boxer. Today, he fought with a perfect mix of technique and instinct. He looked like Joker, but without the weight of his own redemption and the fate of the world on his shoulders. She wasn’t the kind of girl to go swoon over some random athlete… But she was certainly the kind of girl to be affected by the love of her life _radiating_ confidence like that. 

After all, there was a reason why she was having another ‘sleepover at Shiho’s’ tonight.

“...It’s easier to imagine than you might think, Wildcard.” Ann said, shaking her head. “You looked amazing.”

Ren smirked. His arm around her shifted subtly. “How amazing, exactly?”

“Oh, stop it.” Ann laughed. “You’re making me think I need to step it up a little, Wildcard. National high school champion, and the eye of the great Mamoru Yamanaka. I need to hurry up and become a world-famous model to make sure I keep pace with you, don’t I?”

Ren shook his head, his smirk shifted to a warm smile. “You say things like that, Songbird, but I’ll always maintain that I’m the lucky one. Without you… I’m not nearly as good of a boxer. Not nearly as good of a person. I belong to you, remember?”

Warmth bloomed in Ann’s chest. She melted against him, her weight encouraging him to start lying back onto the sofa. “You always say just the right thing, don’t you, Ren Amamiya?”

Her phone started ringing. She ignored it in favor of placing gentle kisses along her boyfriend’s jawline. She glanced at the device, reaching to silence it - she blinked, stopping mid-kiss. The caller ID read ‘Tsuyoshi Matsuda (Pulse Model Agency)’.

“Ah. Sorry, Wildcard. That’s my agent.” Ann said, grabbing her phone. “He wouldn’t call this late unless it was an emergency. Hello? Matsuda-san?... ...What? Really? You’re kidding. ...Uh… yes! Definitely! I can’t wait!”

Ren looked at Ann curiously as she hung up - and then ‘oofed’ as she bowled him over, her hands on his shoulders. She bounced on him excitedly - something that was terribly distracting for a few moments, particularly due to the way she was straddling him - until she started speaking rapidly at him. Something about Fashion Week, and Shibuya...

“Songbird! Songbird! Slow down. I can’t understand you. It’s like dolphins.” Ren laughed.

“I’m going to walk in Fashion Week! In Shibuya!” Ann almost yelled.

Ren frowned confused. “Didn’t you have some gigs during Fashion Week anyway?”

Ann shook her head excitedly. “Some shoots and events, yes. But now they want me to _walk_! On the runway! This is the biggest event of the year!”

Ren grinned. “That’s great! Heh… Looks like I’m the one that has to catch up, now.”

Ann beamed at Ren. “Ehehe… Oh!” She gasped, as Ren abruptly tugged her down to lie on top of him. “Ren…”

“That accomplishment deserves a reward, doesn’t it?”

“This seems _way_ more like rewarding yourself.” Ann poked him in the chest.

“Well… you _did_ just blow me off to take a call from another man.” Ren said,shrugging.

“You mean my agent.” Ann replied, starting to nuzzle at his neck. “You’d think you’d get tired of playing the fake jealousy card by now.”

“Says the girl who stuck to me like glue after Mari dropped by.”

“So it’s _Mari_ now, is it?!—…”

Ren grinned. Ann rolled her eyes - partly at Ren, and partly at herself for being caught. She returned to kissing at his neck and collar, sighing.

“You’re the worst, Wildcard.” She murmured.

“Love you too, Songbird.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some liberties with National Sports Day/Sports Festival. It is a thing, but I didn't research too deeply into how scoring works/who participates/how teams are sorted out. IRL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sports_Festival_of_Japan#Entry_Qualifications_and_Age_Classifications) In this AU, it's just a weekend where many tournaments/competitions coincide in a big celebration of athletics.
> 
> “Actually, looking at senpai right now makes me wonder if I should try it, too. Is it a two-person thing? Maybe Coach Takeda can help me do it--Ow! Ow ow ow! What did I say?!” - Heh heh heh.
> 
> Kaname doesn't know who the Phantom Thieves are. She has an idea that Ren's high school life in the year apart from him wasn't completely normal, but there's no reason she should know. She did cheer them on during the Yaldabaoth fight, but I'm assuming her memory of that vanished - like almost everyone else who saw Mementos/Japan merge.
> 
> I keep going back to playfully jealous Ann/Ren because they're a couple that are secure enough with each other that they like to play at it. Ann's only *truly* jealous of Yamanaka. (j/k)
> 
> Originally this was meant to encompass both Nationals as well as the cultural festival. But then somehow hit 12k words, so no. Next time, less fisticuffs, more jazz/fashion/romance.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fashion Week arrives.
> 
> Yusuke learns to take a hint.
> 
> Shiho learns a little more about what Makoto's planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ASOBIBA - Airsoft field in Akihabara. Remember in GtD, Ryuji introduced Hifumi to it once when she was feeling down and he still had a crush on her. Turns out she stuck with it.  
> 'the yips' - Colloquial term for sudden/unexplained loss of skills in experienced athletes  
> periodization - Term for variation of intensity/type of training that athletes do over the year. Aims for performance peaks around major tournaments  
> Razor Ruddock - Heavyweight fighter noted for using the left handed 'smash' punch.  
> Cinderella cocktail - 1oz lemon juice, 1 oz OJ, 1 oz pineapple juice, dash grenadine, 2 ounces ginger ale.
> 
> NSFW/shameless smut warning.

October 10, 2017 

“And in other news, the string of mysterious break-ins across Tokyo continues. In each instance, no item has been stolen. An anonymous tipster did suggest that the break-ins seem to coincide with ‘Poke-Stops’ from the AR game ‘Pokemon Go’, but that has been dismissed by the metropolitan police as ridiculous…”

“Futaba? Why are you smirking like that?” Sojiro asked, frowning. He set down the last of four mugs on a tray along with some snacks. His adopted daughter was watching the news with interest as she stood on the other side of the bar in her Shujin uniform.

“Oh, no reason.” Futaba grinned. She picked up the tray before heading upstairs. “Thanks, tou-san!”

“Sure. Study hard.” Sojiro waved. He pulled his phone out of his pocket as he received a text. His reflexive smile at seeing a message from Rui faded as he read the contents. “Huh. She’s going to be late again. Probably lost track of time playing that game on her phone again…”

Futaba took the tray upstairs. It was after school, and she, Ann, Shiho, and Ryuji were borrowing Ren’s room to study for midterms. It was difficult to concentrate in Leblanc itself due to the increasing numbers of interested Shujin students keen on seeing one of Ren, Kaoru, Ryuji, Ann, or Shiho. The orange-haired girl placed the tray on Ren’s table before plopping down in her seat, in front of her laptop.

Ann smiled at Futaba, looking up from her history notes. “Thanks, Futaba-chan.” She peered over at Futaba’s computer, blinking. The girl had several windows open; not a single one was related to schoolwork. “You’re not studying?”

Futaba shrugged. “Don’t need to.”

Ryuji raised his eyebrow. “Look who’s got a big head after topping first-year exams in the spring and summer. If I remember right Futaba, it gets harder in the fall. Take it from me.”

Futaba didn’t acknowledge the sage advice, instead just nodding casually at Ryuji’s math textbook. “The equation you need to solve that trigonometry problem you’ve been working on for the past hour is on page 346.”

“Yeah, right.” Ryuji scoffed.

Shiho leaned over the table, flipping Ryuji’s textbook to page 346. “Ooh. Looks like Gremlin’s got you there, RyuRyu.”

Ryuji’s jaw dropped as he read over the page. “W-what?! How the hell did you know that? Have you gone through the _third year_ math textbook?!”

“I read Ren-nii’s copy when I got bored this one weekend.” Futaba said, typing away.

“Ugh. How do I keep forgetting you can do that…? If you don’t need to study, why are you even here?” Ryuji sighed, shaking his head.

“Eh. Kaname, Kaoru, and Ren-nii are at practice, and Tomoko’s doing some stuff for our class’s Cultural Festival thingy.” Futaba shrugged.

“Besides, Ryuji. Can you really afford to reject _any_ help?” Mona yawned, looking up from the small heated cat-bed that Ren had rigged up for him.

“Oh, come on, Mona. I’m not like I was last year.” Ryuji grumbled.

“...Huh. That’s true. You’ve actually got a shot at university now.” Mona licked his paw, absently grooming himself. “It’s just that you usually have Makoto helping you, don’t you?”

“What’s Mona saying?” Shiho asked. While she knew that he could talk, she never had any experience in the Metaverse.

Ann reached over, scritching Mona’s ears. “He’s just saying that Ryuji can’t really afford to reject anyone’s help. After all, neither Makoto or Haru could make it today to help us study.”

“Ah. Yeah…” Shiho sighed. “Speaking of that... Anyone heard from Haru…?”

The group quieted. This was going to be a rough week for their friend. Tomorrow was the one-year anniversary of Kunikazu Okumura’s mental shutdown, and two days after that… October 13th was the day that Haru had made the difficult decision to take her father off life support, once the doctors determined he would never recover.

“I called her yesterday, Shiho.” Ann said, shaking her head. “She sounds like she usually does, but you know her. She’s strong. Maybe too strong for her own good.”

“Rui says that Inari’s been keeping her company, so there’s that…” Futaba said. “...But then again, that Sugimura guy’s been spending more time with her, too. Like, lunch meetings and stuff.”

Shiho recoiled. “What?! _That_ creep?!”

Ann frowned thoughtfully. “Haru mentioned that Okumura Foods bought out their company to save their workers. I guess that would force her to spend more time with her ex-fiance… We _did_ change his heart in Mementos though.”

Mona nodded. “That’s right. He’ll be a different person now.”

“He is, from what Haru says. He’s in charge of a non-profit organization that she helped him set up.” Ann said. “Still, though. I can’t imagine how weird it must be for Haru. I hope she isn’t over-doing it…”

“And what’s Mako-chan up to?” Shiho asked.

“The usual.” Ryuji shrugged. “Talk about over-doin’ it, heh. Toudai’s no joke. It’s like she’s always got a paper or midterm or something… And she volunteers with the police. _And_ she started a part-time job, recently.”

“Really? What’s the job?” Ann asked.

Ryuji grinned. “It’s _super_ cool. She’s working at the shop where we rented the bikes for our motorcycle trip.”

Futaba frowned, checking something on her laptop. “Actually, based on your credit card statement, you mean the shop where you rented the bike and the sidec--Mmph!”

Ryuji covered Futaba’s mouth with his hand, smiling nervously. “You know Futaba, weren’t you sayin’ something about how you were running low on your favorite ramen? The kind that RenRen bought you last year? Why don’t you order some up on Amazon, on me?”

Shiho grinned at Ryuji. “You mean that year’s supply of hush-ramen that the Champ bought Gremlin to keep his manga purchases quiet back when he was still trying to hide it from us? Makes me wonder what you’re trying to hide, heh…”

“Nothing at all.” Ryuji said quickly.

Shiho laughed. “I’ll let it go for now. Anyway, RyuRyu. Pretty ironic, isn’t it? You got all popular with the girls at school, but only _after_ you got a steady girlfriend. It’s too bad she can’t even get the time to come out to the Cultural Festival.”

“Hm? Actually, she’s coming.” He grinned. “I’m pretty pumped about it, actually. I’ve never had the ‘walking around the festival with a cute girl’ experience before, y’know? I mean, technically we were together last year, but with everything going on, we didn’t really have a chance to enjoy it.”

Shiho frowned. “Wait. Wait wait wait. Mako-chan told me that she wasn’t going to be there.”

“Hm? That’s weird.” Ryuji said, shrugging. “She told me that she’s coming. She even made sure she got the day off work and everything. Said that it was really important for her to come, actually…”

“...I distinctly remember her telling me she wasn’t going to be there.” Shiho murmured. “And she’s not the type to forget.”

“Maybe she wants to ambush you and Kurosawa-kun.” Ann smirked. She dodged the crumpled ball of paper sent her way by the volleyball ace.

“There’s nothing to ambush, Blondie!” Shiho scoffed.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh. So you just hang around the shoe lockers at the end of the day or the hallway where the band room is for no reason. Not so that he can find you easily for the daily asking-out of Shiho Suzui.”

“Just coincidence.”

“And it’s also coincidence how you _happened_ to walk into Crossroads the other day, when we were practicing.” Ann continued.

“Y-yep!” Shiho replied, unable to fully suppress the catch in her voice as her mind unhelpfully provided a mental image of Kurosawa playing his trumpet in the dim lights of the bar. It wasn’t just how he _looked_ when he was playing. He just seemed to truly be in his element. In particular, she loved-- ...rather, she _liked_ how he was when he and the other two regular members of the jazz club, Akane and Shouta, strayed from practising their set for the Cultural Festival and started musically duking it out with daring improvisation. Ren and Ann could barely keep up. Kurosawa’s eyes would light up, and he’d just come to _life_ \--

“ _Anyway_ , Shiho. Regardless of whether or not it’s all coincidence, Makoto might be aware of all of that too. She still has friends at Shujin besides us, remember? And didn’t she swear a final and terrible revenge on you? Especially after what you pulled on Valentine’s Day on her and Ryuji.” Ann said, seemingly not noticing Shiho’s impromptu daydream.

“What? I didn’t lock them in there _that_ long. And I left them blankets! And … other things!” Shiho said, defensively. She looked at Ryuji, who shrugged, grinning.

“Hey. I won’t complain. It worked out fine for me in the end.” Ryuji said, grinning. “...Makoto doesn’t forget _anything_ , though…”

Shiho frowned. That was definitely true. Makoto’s memory was perfect, and only yesterday the brunette hinted that she had seen Kurosawa comforting her in the band room. She had to assume that Makoto was up to something. She was far too savvy to have trusted Ryuji with anything… No. Likely, Makoto was playing her cards close to the vest.

She glanced at Futaba. Luckily, she still had a way of finding out what those cards were.

>>>

October 11, 2017 

It was after school at Kosei High School. The arts-oriented school was still quite busy, of course. Aside from clubs, several students remained behind to work on various projects. These included musical performances, clay sculptures, and of course, paintings. The large studio at Kosei dedicated to this was bustling. Due to the outstanding work of Yusuke, a number of first-year students decided to follow in the enigmatic third-year’s footsteps. When he was painting, he often had one or two eager kouhai observing him in respectful silence. Today though, a miasma seemed to hang over his corner of the studio. The artist looked like he hadn’t slept in days; nervous greetings from his fellow painters were answered with vague nods. The brave few that asked if they could observe his work today were given blank stares.

Yusuke Kitagawa was in a slump.

It was his first slump since last year, when he had dragged Ren around to Mementos, the church in Kanda, and other locations in an attempt to break it. It was difficult, then. This one felt even worse. It rocked Yusuke to his core in terms of severity and also in how _fast_ it had come on. The slump hadn’t been long, but rather than a slow decline in progress and production like he had experienced before, this was more like turning off a light switch.

It didn’t make any sense. Prior to this latest block, he had been more productive than ever. It seemed that the only limitation to his ability to produce high quality art was the speed at which the paint dried. Now though, there was nothing. He stood in front of his easel, staring at the canvas. He held his palette and brush poised in the futile hope that something would come to him. Just a few days ago, the blank space spoke of endless potential. Now, the white space seemed to be staring mockingly back at him. He closed his eyes; slowed his breathing. He cleared his mind - or tried to.

_‘...Ne, Yusuke-kun. I can’t make it to your exhibition in November. I… I have to go to a fundraiser with Sugimura-san.’_

_‘Ah. I see.’_

_‘Does that bother you?’_

_‘...No. Why would it bother me?’_

With a disgusted groan, he carelessly tossed his brush aside before collapsing onto his stool (The one carved to look like a shiitake mushroom; his last ill-advised purchase before Haru taught him how to budget). He couldn’t even clear his mind properly. Ever since that strange conversation with Haru, he had been thoroughly unfocused and mired in this ‘snap slump’. His mind kept going back to it. Why was he thinking about it, when it had _nothing_ to do with his art?

Why would it bother him? Why _was_ it bothering him? 

“Kitagawa-kun?”

Yusuke looked up, startled. Hifumi Togo stood at the door, looking in curiously at the artist. The shogi player (and airsoft ace) was passing by the studio when the paintbrush struck the floor in front of her. She adjusted the rifle case on her shoulder as she bent to collect the brush to return to Yusuke.

“Ah… My apologies, Togo-san.” Yusuke said, shaking his head as he accepted the brush from Hifumi. “I did not intend to throw my brush at you.”

“Mm. No trouble, Kitagawa-kun.” Hifumi said, putting her rifle case and bag down. “I haven’t seen you nor Sakamoto-kun at ASOBIBA lately. Though, I suppose that makes sense. Shujin’s track team has been all over the news, and everyone knows how busy you’ve been with your painting.”

“How busy I _was_.” Yusuke groused. “As you can see, Togo-san, I’m in quite the slump.” Yusuke gestured at the blank canvas, as well as a few discarded attempts.

“Ah.” Hifumi said, sympathetically. “I went through something similar a few weeks ago in my tournament play. Ren-kun called it ‘the yips’. He and Ann-chan were quite helpful, actually. They’re your friends too, are they not? Have you spoken with them? Perhaps they could help you as well.”

Yusuke shook his head. “They are both quite busy, between studying for entrance exams, boxing, and modeling. I couldn’t impose. Moreover, this only started a few days ago.”

“A few days…?” Hifumi asked. “Then how do you know it’s a slump?”

“I’ve never been this blocked before.” Yusuke sighed. “It’s as if I’ve forgotten how to paint.”

“I see. May I have a look?”

Yusuke waved hopelessly, rubbing his face with his other hand.

Hifumi glanced through the discarded work. Just a few hesitant brush strokes here and there. She picked up the artist’s sketchbook, going through that instead.

“Ah… That’s not my main sketchbook. Most of it is simply absentminded scribbles, Togo-san. Nothing serious.” Yusuke said.

Hifumi nodded, still flipping through the book. It reminded her of her own notebook, where she idly drew out new strategies for either shogi or airsoft. Yusuke was right, of course. Most of the drawings were doodles, at best. Just a means for the artist to warm up his hands and eyes before getting down to work. She blinked in surprise as she came across more detailed drawings, about halfway through the book. Several seemed to feature a girl. Her eyes widened in recognition. It was one of Ann and Ren’s friends; the girl who occasionally worked at Leblanc - Haru. Haru was certainly a pretty girl, but the way Yusuke had drawn her… she was _beautiful_.

She blushed faintly at the obvious (to everyone but Yusuke, apparently) implication. 

She coughed, before closing the book and handing it back to Yusuke. “...Kitagawa-kun, is there someone you consult with regularly about your work?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. A friend. Haru Okumura. Do you know her?”

“Not well.” Hifumi said. “Perhaps you should speak with her, if not Ren-kun and Ann-chan…?”

Yusuke frowned. “She’s quite busy, also…” And even Yusuke thought it would be strange to ask Haru about his slump - especially when it seemed to have something to do with the last conversation they had.

“Anyway, Kitagawa-kun. ASOBIBA calls.” Hifumi said, picking up her rifle case. She handed the sketchbook back to him. “I wouldn’t discount these ‘scribbles’, if I were you. There’s a saying in shogi, you know.”

“Oh?”

“Mm. ‘Without pawns in hand, the game is lost’. Even lesser pieces in shogi are valuable, much like your ‘scribbles’.”

As Hifumi left, she smiled slightly, thinking of another proverb.

“Hm. The bystander sees the best of the game…”

>>>

October 14, 2017 

**SS: Exams over!**

**AT: We’re doooone!** (exhausted blonde bunny)

 **MN: Great work!** (black cat with ‘OK!’ under it)

**RS: party at renren’s!**

**RA: Wait, what?**

Haru giggled faintly at her phone as she stepped out of the car in the front driveway of the Okumura estate. She didn’t join the texting, but it lightened her heart to read the conversation between her dear friends - friends that she hadn’t seen nearly enough of lately. Most of her week had been occupied by former colleagues and partners of her father delivering their condolences on the first anniversary of his death. Thankfully, it wasn’t a circus like it was last year. The media wasn’t trying to hound her. Also, the majority of the people who took time to send her their condolences seemed to be sincere this time around. After all, the people who tried to use her father’s death to manipulate her were no longer associated with Okumura Foods.

Rui greeted her at the door.

“Haru-sama, welcome home.” Rui said. “How was class?”

“Good, Rui-san.” Haru said. She smiled reassuringly at her ‘executive assistant’. Rui had mixed feelings about Haru attending her university classes at all this week, but ultimately relented. “I think it was good for me to go, in fact. A reminder that life goes on.”

Rui nodded; a little resigned smile crossed her face as she realized that Haru’s mother would have said the same thing.

She accompanied Haru into the living room, where there was already coffee waiting for her. Haru took a seat on the sofa, accepting a tablet from Rui. Haru sipped at the drink as Rui went over a few things that required her attention. Haru blinked, glancing at a modest (but well-made) arrangement of freshly cut flowers on the coffee table.

“Rui-san? Who are these from?”

Rui, normally impassive (unless it concerned Sojiro), made a face. “Sugimura.”

Haru smiled slightly. “He still bothers you that much?”

“I think he got off lightly for how he treated you, Haru-sama.” Rui shrugged.

“...His family fortune’s all but gone, his father’s in prison, and his reputation was destroyed?”

“I stand by my statement.”

Haru chuckled. “That’s fair, I suppose…”

Her feelings on the subject were thoroughly mixed. She could never forget how Sugimura treated her before his change of heart. She still remembered the feeling of helplessness as he spouted his abuse at her; how she felt she needed a shower every time he looked at her; the feeling of fear when it looked like she was going to marry a man who had every intention of using her for his amusement until she broke or he got bored. He was different now, of course. He was pouring everything he had into the non-profit Haru put him in charge of. At their meetings, he seemed energized, humble, and even _charismatic_. 

It wasn’t love, or even the beginnings of romantic affection. If anything, it just gave Haru hope that she might eventually be able to call Sugimura a trusted business partner and friend. But at least, he kept her distracted.

_‘...Ne, Yusuke-kun. I can’t make it to your next exhibition in November. I… I have to go to a fundraiser with Sugimura-san.’_

_‘Ah. I see.’_

_‘Does that bother you?’_

_‘...No. Why would it bother me?’_

Haru put down her coffee mug as Rui left to answer the door. Probably another delivery of flowers or similar. She rubbed her face, sighing quietly. She didn’t know why she expected a different response from Yusuke. The artist didn’t even blink an eye when she mentioned she was seeing Sugimura again (albeit for business reasons only). He didn’t even seem to mind that she would be passing on his art exhibition. It seemed as though he was just fine without her.

But as much as she tried to move on from this, her heart doggedly circled back around. It was ridiculous; it was like the type of romance she read in books, or in the manga she occasionally borrowed from Ren. Certainly, Yusuke was handsome… But more importantly, there was a sort of atmosphere around the artist that struck her. It was a sort of stillness borne out of his single minded passion for his work. While others felt he was complicated and eccentric, Haru felt he was quite easy to read. For Yusuke, everything was art. No ulterior motives; a far cry from the people she normally had to associate with. So, she simply felt like she didn’t have to _try_ around him. She didn’t have to wear a mask, nor did she have to work to look behind someone else’s.

She cherished the time she spent with him. Particularly the days where he would paint or sketch, and she would study, work, or garden. She could almost imagine a life… 

She shook the thought from her head. This wasn’t helping. Haru knew - she needed closure. Much like she had with Ren, though admittedly that had been with the help of a wonderfully understanding friend in Ann. Haru couldn’t force the burden of her unrequited love on Yusuke. Not while he was doing so well. She didn’t want to be responsible for miring the artist in a slump during this critical time. As a third year student on the art track at Kosei, he _had_ to remain productive. She had to do her best to forget about him on her own--

“Haru?”

Haru dropped her coffee cup onto its saucer with a clatter, thankfully not spilling as she leapt to her feet, whirling to face the entrance of the living room. Apparently, Rui had let this particular guest straight in.

“Yusuke-kun! G-good afternoon.” Haru stammered.

Yusuke bowed politely, carrying a shopping bag. “Good afternoon. Are you well, Haru? I apologize for not visiting sooner.”

Haru shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I probably wouldn’t have been home, anyway. Honestly, it feels like this is the first day I’ve had all week without a meeting, or one of my father’s former partners wanting to offer their condolences. It’s… it sounds ungrateful, but…”

Yusuke nodded. “But it must be exhausting.”

Haru nodded. They stood there, awkwardly. That was strange. Usually Yusuke was too oblivious to be awkward. He reached into the shopping bag.

“I was not certain of what to bring, Haru.” Yusuke said.

Haru waved her hands. “You don’t have to. There’s almost too many flowers, really.”

He withdrew a tin of tea. “You mentioned once that this was your favorite for stressful times, I believe…?”

Haru blinked. It was her favorite brand of rose tea. She had mentioned it once, in passing, several months ago.

“...You remembered that?”

Yusuke nodded. He pursed his lips for a moment before speaking slowly. “The time we’ve spent together is… it is important to me.”

“I… see.” Haru mumbled, looking at the tin in her hands in fascination. She considered what Ann or Shiho would suggest she do in this situation. She could practically hear them screaming at her to speak bluntly to the artist. That was crazy. Selfish. Stupid.

She looked up at Yusuke. He was uncharacteristically looking away. Appearing _bashful_. Selfish and stupid suddenly seemed like a pretty good idea.

“Yusuke-kun, I--”

“...The fundraiser! The fundraiser, next month!” Yusuke blurted out. “It falls on the same date as the exhibition?”

“It does.” Haru said, confused. “I actually met with Takakura-san about it again this week. He said it’s going to double as the company’s year-end party this year as well, so it’s a much bigger affair than I anticipated it would be.”

“...Ah.” Yusuke mumbled. After a pensive moment, he nodded slowly. “I see. Then… You should probably go to that. I would never stand in the way of your obligations, Haru.”

“...Right. I should.” Haru replied, all impulsiveness vanishing. “If you’ll excuse me, Yusuke-kun. I should rest a little.”

“Of course.” Yusuke said. He turned on his heel, heading to the entryway. He paused before disappearing around the corner, glancing back at Haru. He looked like he was about to say something more, but ultimately left without another word.

Haru sighed quietly as Rui re-entered the room. She looked up at her friend, a wan smile doing little to cover her disappointment at both Yusuke and herself. “How much of that did you hear, Rui-san?”

“Enough.” Rui said.

“...Just a waste of time.” Haru sighed. She put the tea down on the coffee table. “He’s a considerate friend. Nothing more.”

“It _was_ a waste of time, Haru-sama. But he wasted more of it than you know.” Rui said, picking up the tea. “They’re doing renovations at the subway station nearest to the estate today. Your ‘considerate friend’ would have had to walk for nearly an hour just to deliver tea.”

>>>

October 21, 2017 

It was the first day back to regular training for the four entrants to the All-Japan National Boxing Championship. After the tournament, Kaname gave the team a week of deloaded training assignments. It was a planned break that Kaname had accounted for in the periodization of the fighters’ training; it was actually critical so that the next peak in performance would arrive right in time for the Winter Cup. Upon their return, Kaname and Shinoda reviewed video of the National tournament with the entire team - a combination of feedback for the four entrants and education for the six beginners who hadn’t qualified for the competition.

The focus this afternoon was correcting deficiencies in preparation for the upcoming preliminaries for the Winter Cup. First up was Eiji Aikawa, bantamweight.

“How is this fair?!--Shit!” Eiji yelped, barely bobbing under a vicious left hook from Kaoru.

Shou grinned, leaning over the ropes of the Shujin boxing club’s ring. “How is it unfair? Haven’t you said you could beat any of the newbies with one hand tied behind your back?”

“I didn’t mean _literally_!” Eiji snapped, before cursing and parrying a sharp jab.

Eiji was currently trying to fend off a charging featherweight infighter with just his left hand. The second-year student was a ‘flat-footed brawler’ and proud of it. He was particularly happy with the power of his right straight and right hook. And, as Kaname noted, he was reliant on them to the point where he lost in the semi-finals of the tournament. Because conventional training methods hadn’t worked all year in altering Eiji’s ‘one-armed’ tendency, Kaname had come up with a creative training method.

Eiji Aikawa was currently in the ring with his right arm literally tied behind his back by a skipping rope. His objective was to keep Kaoru away with only left.

Eiji fell flat on his ass as left and right hooks sliced into the space where his head had been. Kaoru’s fists moved with enough power and speed that the second-year boxer could actually _hear_ the sound of the gloves cutting through the air.

“God _damn_ , Kao-kun! Do you have to punch so seriously?! You could have ripped my head off!”

“Sorry, senpai! Coach’s orders!” Kaoru said apologetically.

Kaname beamed at Eiji from across the ring. “Having fun, Aikawa? Learned your lessons yet?”

“Yes! God, yes! I’ll use my left!” Eiji said, getting to his feet.

“I said lesson _s_ , _plural_. Hey, Iwai. Would you mind working the body until Aikawa figures it out? You can use that solar plexus punch you won the championship with.”

Kaoru sighed. He raised his fists.

Eiji raised his unbound hand in surrender. “No! For the love of all that’s holy! What’s the other lesson?!”

“ _STUDY, DIRTBAG.”_ Kaname shouted, her smiling face vanishing as she started slamming her palm on the canvas. “Use your fucking left and use your freaking brain! I saw the exam results! If you had scored just a few points lower, you would have been put on academic probation and taken off the team! I won’t let that happen to _any_ of my boxers!”

“Haha. Too bad your silver hair didn’t come with wisdom, Grandpa Aikawa.” Shou grinned. “You got scolded!... …”

Shou trailed off as Kaname turned slowly to look at him. She was smiling again.

“Ki~mu~ra-sen~pai… What was _your_ exam score?” Kaname asked, her voice saccharine-sweet.

“...I uh… did better than Eiji…?”

Ren called over from where he was working on agility ladder drills with Shinoda. “He’s not wrong, Kana-chan. He did better by two points.”

“Ahah… Thanks, Captain, suuuuper helpful.” Shou mumbled, backing away from Kaname.

“Just looking out for you, buddy.” Ren grinned.

Kaname smiled at Shou. “Oh, look. You’re already heading out for road work. Good for you, Kimura.”

“B-b-but we all ran together, didn’t we?!” Shou stammered in a negotiation that he (and everyone else) knew was futile. At the beginning of the year, Kaname has emphasized the importance of keeping their grades up. Like her father, she was first and foremost concerned with the future of her boxers. And that meant a life _after_ boxing, too. Which meant studying.

“Oh, yes. But you’ve been slacking on your personalized routine, haven’t you?” Kaname asked. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have run out of stamina by the end of the second round in the semis, would you?” Kaname collected her shinai and bicycle helmet. “Get your ass outside, Kimura. Special roadwork for you. You’re going to run, and I’m going to ask you history questions.”

“?! Are you serious?!”

“Dead serious. It’s _Shou-_ time.” Kaname smiled grimly. She smacked her shinai against the door frame. “Move it!”

All the other boxers in the gym studiously focused on their own training as Kaname herded Shou out the door.

Ren finished up his drills, taking a seat to join Kaoru in stretching. “Heh. She’s in a good mood today.”

“Heh… Yeah. She couldn’t sit still during the video review.” Kaoru grinned. “And even before today, I could tell that the time off was killing her, even if she was the one who planned for us to have the break.”

“She really likes boxing.” Ren said. He then flashed Kaoru a teasing grin. “Almost as much as she likes you.”

“Senpai!” Kaoru hissed, mortification crossing his face. The two of them still weren’t public.

“Haha. Relax, Kaoru. No one’s paying attention.”

“Kyaaa~ Amamiya-senpai!”

Ren smiled and waved politely at the gaggle of girls crowding the entrance to the boxing club’s gym, earning a few more shrill cries of delight. They were emboldened of course by Kaname’s exit from the gym. He shrugged, looking at Kaoru. “Well. No one’s able to _hear_ us, anyway.”

“How are you so used to that…?” Kaoru mumbled, shaking his head.

“Well. You’re going to have to get used to it too, featherweight champ.”

Kaoru smiled sheepishly. “That’s crazy. I don’t have fans like you. I’m just--”

“Iwai~kuuun! Come on, show us a one-two! (He’s so _cute_ with how shy he gets!)”

“He totally heard that!”

Iwai hunched down, cringing.

“Oh my _God_! He’s blushing! Quick, take pictures!”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You know, it only gets worse the more you hide. You’ve kinda got the ‘please protect me and cuddle me’ look now.”

Kaoru sighed uncomfortably. “Can… Can we just talk about boxing?”

Ren laughed. “Fine. Shoot.”

“I don’t really understand what Kana-chan was saying about my legs.” Kaoru said, frowning. Kaname’s main feedback for his matches was that his initial dash to close the distance was lacking power. “I’ve been doing all the road work and strength training. My squat weight’s been steadily going up.”

“Oh. That.” Ren stood up, gesturing for Kaoru to follow.

Kaoru got up, following Ren to a series of sturdy wooden boxes. “We just got these in, didn’t we?”

“Yep. The issue isn’t so much your leg strength. You’ve always had surprising strength. It’s more your ability to generate that strength with velocity.” Ren said. “Your step-in is already good. But it could be _deadly_.”

Ren stopped in front of the middle-height box, measuring 60cm off the ground. He stood in front of it, bending his knees and holding his arms back before smoothly jumping off the ground and landing adroitly on top of the box.

Kaoru frowned. “That looks… really easy?”

“Feels easy, too.” Ren said, hopping off the box. “For one rep. When Kana-chan gets back, she’s probably going to get you to do it until you can’t, and expect you to have perfect form when you do it. And this is just the start. She’ll drill you here until your form is perfect, then you’ll move onto more complex plyometrics, probably with lateral movement as well.”

The two boxers worked together. Kaoru graduated to the 90cm box fairly quickly. As he did his repetitions, he and Ren continued talking. Kaoru glanced over at Shinoda, who was working with the beginners.

“I don’t understand why Coach Shinoda was criticizing your stance, senpai.”

Ren smiled. “I appreciate the support, but it’s fair. My left hand is always chronically lower than it should be. I like the angle it creates for my jabs, but the only reason I get away with it is because we’re at the high school level. Against a real pro, I’d probably take a good shot to my body or chin through the gap.”

Ren took his stance as Kaoru continued his jumps. His left moved slowly; back and forth, up and down. The welterweight’s chin appeared and reappeared as a viable target. “He’s right. If I want to use off-angle jabs, I should be moving my left more, like this. Be less static. The hard part is doing this in a way that doesn’t have a real rhythm to it. If I fall into a pattern with this, it’s as good as being wide open anyway.”

Ren lowered his hands, moving to take his turn on the plyo box. His feet thudded onto the top of the wood as he jumped. “It’s hard to change a fundamental issue, though. I love using off-angle lefts. It’s how I set up the majority of what I do.”

Kaoru nodded. He looked pensive for a moment. “...Is there a fundamental issue with my boxing?”

Ren paused. “If Kana-chan hasn’t told you yet, then she probably doesn’t think you’re ready to know. I’d just stick to the plyos for now.”

“...So there _is_ something!” Kaoru said. He looked at Ren with the eager energy of a puppy. “Can’t you tell me? I need to figure it out before the Winter Cup, don’t I?”

Ren laughed. He saw too much of his past self in Kaoru to hold out.

“There is. You share the same issue that Kana-chan had, and that her father had.” Ren replied. He stepped down off the box. “How does your boxing _work_?”

Kaoru frowned, raising his fists in his ‘peek-a-boo’ guard. “A hard step-in, back them off with compact, hard punches to the body…” He mumbled.

“Exactly.” Ren smiled. “That’s the issue.”

“...?”

“See, you--”

“Better if we show him, Renpai. He’ll remember it better.” Kaname said, dragging Shou in by his ankle as she walked back into the gym. The spectators parted like the Red Sea. Apparently, ‘Shou-time’ was over. She dropped his leg with a thud, leaving the groaning lightweight on the floor. “Both of you. Get in the ring.”

Ren nodded, unsurprised. He pulled on his gloves and climbed in.

Kaoru’s jaw dropped. This was the first time he’d ever been allowed to spar against Ren. He was simultaneously terrified and elated; he couldn’t help the sparkle that came to his eyes. “Are you serious?! Kana-chan, I can’t--Ow!”

Kaname tapped the top of Kaoru’s head with her shinai. Even the light blow resonated with a loud - _crack_ -. “That’s Coach Takeda. We’re at practice. And it’s about damn time you get over your crush, Iwai! Get in the damn ring!” She muttered quietly, _just_ loud enough for Kaoru to hear as he passed her. “I swear to God, if you ever look at another girl the way you look at Renpai, I’ll end you _both_.”

Kaoru laughed nervously.

Kaoru and Ren touched gloves and returned to their corners. The bell rang.

“Please don’t punch each other’s faces! Just go for the body!” One of the female spectators shouted, to the irritation of Eiji and Shou. Kaname shot a glare at the girls, silencing them.

Kaoru hesitantly approached Ren.

Ren mutually closed the distance, stopping just inside his range for a jab. Kaoru stared at his senpai, wide-eyed. From his perspective, the presence and pressure of the welterweight champion was stifling - he felt like he could barely breathe. He stared, confused, as Ren reached out with his left in an exceedingly slow form of a jab.

Shou snickered.

Ren raised his left up in the air - and flicked the front of Kaoru’s headgear, just over the featherweight’s forehead. Ren grinned. “Need to stop being starstruck, Kaoru. Can’t show you anything if you aren’t yourself.”

“Ah. Sorry, senpai…”

“Renpai. Give him a more familiar target.” Kaname said, rolling her eyes. “Maybe that’ll wake him up.”

Ren nodded. He backstepped, taking an orthodox stance. His shoulders jogged lightly as he started moving his feet, circling Kaoru in a clockwise direction. Kaoru blinked. Ren was performing a picture-perfect imitation of Hiroto Kobayashi, a pure outboxer and Kaoru’s rival.

“Stop gawking and do your thing, Iwai!” Kaname shouted. “Get in there!”

Kaoru shot forward at Ren. He bobbed and weaved around the left jabs that the welterweight fired at him as he circled; Ren was quickly forced to backstep as he moved. Eventually, he ended up against the ropes. Kaoru quickly moved in for the finish, preparing to go after his senpai with hard body blows aimed at lowering his guard and exposing his chin--

“Stop!” Kaname shouted.

Kaoru turned, blinking. “But I had him…?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I dashed in, pressured him until he backed off--”

“Exactly.” Ren said, smiling. He nodded at the center of the ring; he and Kaoru returned there. “In every fight you’ve been in, you’ve successfully backed off all of your opponents. It’s rare to find someone that fights with the kind of aggression and swarming of the Takeda style at the highschool level, so most people just end up trying to retreat - and running out of room.”

Ren took his usual stance, his left hand drifting up and down. “Let’s go again.”

“Box!” Kaname yelled.

Kaoru dashed in - and was surprised by an unmoving Ren. Kaoru didn’t hesitate, though - he moved into his range, preparing to do his usual compact body blows. Even if the speed and power of his approach didn’t back Ren off, his punches would. He yelped in surprise as Ren’s forearm came into contact with the side of his head. Or more accurately, his head came into contact with Ren’s guard. It was a subtle, but critical difference - using one’s forearm actively to push or control an opponent’s head was illegal. But Ren’s arm just _happened_ to be occupying the space that Kaoru was trying to enter.

Before Kaoru could adjust, Ren stepped in even closer - either leaning his chest, shoulder, or head against the younger boxer’s. The fight turned into a wrestling match.

 _‘Isn’t this a clinch?! What’s--’_ Kaoru’s breath was knocked out of him by an uppercut to his stomach; several more hits to his face from below forced his hands up to block. He tried to push back or change position, but Ren, the taller boxer, started leaning on him as well. It was almost like Kaoru had to waste energy to support their combined weight. It wasn’t a clinch - far from it. Ren’s hands were always moving, always hitting or stalling or blocking Kaoru from moving the way he wanted to. His forearms and hands occasionally shoved at Kaoru’s head or neck during brief scuffles and moments where they were tangled up, skirting the line between foul and fair play. This wasn’t Ren’s ideal distance; none of his punches were particularly dangerous. But it was beyond frustrating for Kaoru.

He actually started to get _annoyed_ at his idol. Tensing his legs and moving from his hips, he did as they had been practicing with plyos - he exploded upwards with a loud grunt, lifting and pushing hard from his legs. He put all his energy into shoving the weight off his head and neck - and was rewarded by a hard left hook that rattled him through his headgear, sending him stumbling forward through the space that Ren occupied as the older boxer pivoted on his leading foot. A perfectly performed check hook. Kaoru spun to face his senpai again; his eyes widened at the right cross flying towards his face.

Ren stopped short. “See the issue?”

“You cheated!” Kaoru protested. “You’re not allowed to shove and grab my head and neck like that!”

“He did cheat, Kaoru.” Kaname said. “But the ref wouldn’t have ever seen it or called it. It was too fast and too frequent… And it’s exactly what Kobayashi did to his opponent in the quarterfinals before he got injured. The best fighters always skirt the rules and learn to use as much leeway as the refs allow them to have. So, cheating aside. Do you see the issue?”

“...I don’t know what to do against an opponent who doesn’t back down.” Kaoru mumbled. This was almost crushing to his confidence. His entire fight record up until now was based on his ability to back his opponents off. He blinked, as Ren patted his shoulder with a gloved hand.

“This is probably why Kana-chan didn’t want me to spar against you until now, Kaoru. But you shouldn’t let this hurt your confidence. I sparred against her during my entire childhood, remember? I’ve had a long time to learn how to deal with your style.”

“This strategy against infighters takes more guts and skill than most people have at the high school level.” Kaname nodded. “You punch above your weight, Iwai. Just like me and my dad. For most boxers, inviting us into close range is like volunteering to defuse a bomb. The trouble is, the higher level you get, the more likely you’ll find someone with that resolve.”

Ren continued. “Kobayashi could have taken apart his quarterfinals opponent without an issue using his usual style, but he invited him in. Most likely because he was trying to polish his technique for _you_. You made a pretty big impression on him at the Inter-High… If he hadn’t gotten hurt, I think he might have beaten the current you.”

“Oh…” Kaoru mumbled.

Kaname grinned fiercely. “Don’t look so glum, Iwai. Renpai said the _current_ you. Right up until the Winter Cup, we’re going to work on it. If my father’s style was so easily stalled, he wouldn’t have become the Japanese champion. We’re going to come at this from three ways. First of all, we’re going to make your step-in explosive enough that you’ll still force people to back off. And during the sparring match, you had the right idea in using your leg strength to shove Renpai away. We just need to show you how to do it in a way that doesn’t leave you wide open for a counter. And the last thing, I’m going to show you how to do what Renpai was doing to you.”

Kaoru nodded firmly. “Right! Then, senpai, can you—…”

He trailed off. Ren was putting away his gloves and hand wraps.

“Oh! Sorry, Kaoru. I’m cutting today short. Need to get to Shibuya for Ann’s big moment. Last day of Fashion Week.”

“Just because you and Iwai earned byes during the preliminary rounds doesn’t mean you can slack off, Renpai.” Kaname said. “What are you going to do to make up for this?”

“I’ll run—“

“Seriously, Captain? That’s it?” Shou, now fully recovered, rolled his eyes. “Talk about favouritism.”

“—from here to Shibuya.” Ren finished, to incredulous stares.

>>>

Ren’s run came to a stop in front of the Shibuya Hikarie retail complex. He leaned back, staring up at the 183 metre, 43 storey skyscraper, letting out a low whistle. The skyscraper was highlighted tonight by a number of spotlights and trendy music was being pumped through the speakers. All the stops were being pulled out for the last day of Tokyo Fashion Week. The fighter from Kamakura didn’t often feel like a country bumpkin - a function of the traveling he did for boxing before his arrest, as well as his generally adaptive nature - but today, he certainly felt like a backwater hayseed. This part of Shibuya was always busy, but today, it was busy and glitzy. Everywhere he looked, beautiful people wore beautiful clothes. Dressed in his shorts and sleeveless t-shirt with his gym bag slung over his shoulder, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

There was a literal red carpet leading into the building, complete with reporters, flashing cameras, and security guards. Guards who were now eyeing the sweaty highschooler askance as he approached. One of them left the red carpet area, moving to intercept him. After all, it wouldn’t do to have some poorly-dressed sweaty kid ruining the pictures.

“Hey, you. This event is closed to the public--”

“Amamiya-san? Amamiya-san!”

Ren looked up, seeing a young, overwhelmed-looking Japanese man approach hurriedly. He had short black hair and a stylish (but wrinkled) charcoal suit on. Dark blue eyes peered out at the world through thick-framed glasses. There were shadows under his eyes, as well as stubble on his chin. He clutched a smartphone that seemed to be perpetually buzzing with text messages. He glanced at it, frowning as he started to type in a response as he walked. He caught his toe on the sidewalk, fumbling the device.

“Crap!” He swatted at it - sending it flying.

Ren snatched it out of the air. He blinked, looking at the man. “Do I know you…?”

“Er… Uh, no. I’m Matsuda. I mean, Tsuyoshi Matsuda.” Matsuda bowed awkwardly, nearly headbutting Ren as the boxer handed his phone back to him. “Oh! Sorry. I’m Takamaki-san’s agent from Pulse Model Agency.”

“Oh. ...Uh, really?” Ren asked, bewildered. He always assumed that Ann’s agent was older. And certainly less frazzled.

“Yes.” Matsuda said. He bowed again. “Sorry! You were probably expecting someone older? Until recently I was one of the interns at Pulse. I became an associate just before the summer…”

Matsuda led Ren inside, past the paparazzi and security guards, flashing his badge. While answering texts and trying not to walk into walls, the young man continued to explain. It turned out that Matsuda became a full-fledged agent just in time to have Ann assigned to him.

“Really? No offense, Matsuda-san… But Ann is your _first_ client?” Ren asked. “I assumed she would have been assigned to someone with more experience.”

“No offense taken, Amamiya-san. I can’t believe my luck either, sometimes.” Matsuda pressed the button for the 27th floor. “At the time, Takamaki-san wasn’t considered a prime ‘talent’ for the agency. She was just one of many junior talents thought to have potential, good enough to merit having her own agent, but not noteworthy enough to have the senior associates and partners fighting over her. Models at her level are considered good ‘first clients’ for associates like me. Usually.”

“...Before the summer.” Ren mused. “Right before we shot the August edition of _Vague_?”

“ _Exactly_ .” Matsuda laughed tiredly. “So much for a good ‘first client’. Takamaki-san’s popularity _really_ took off after that. I feel like I’ve slept less and less as each month’s gone by. And this past month, I haven’t slept at _all_. Especially after she was given the chance to walk.”

“I didn’t think Ann would be a difficult client.” Ren chuckled. The two men looked out on Shibuya through the glass wall of the elevator as it neared the 27th floor. 

Matsuda shook his head vehemently. “No. She really isn’t. She’s incredible to work with. She isn’t demanding and she works hard. She’s unbelievably kind and never complains. It’s just that ever since word got out that she’s walking the runway, I’ve been getting constant calls about her, and not just from the media and people in the industry. Associates and partners are offering to ‘take her off my hands’ if being her agent’s too much work. But I won’t give her up!”

Ren raised his eyebrow, turning from the glass wall of the elevator to look at the agent who had up until now appeared to be clumsy, anxious, and overwhelmed. Right now, he seemed resolute. Even passionate.

Matsuda turned to Ren; he almost jumped. “Ah! I mean, as a client. Of course.”

“...Right.” The elevator chimed, saving the two from an extended awkward silence.

“27th Floor. Tokyo Theatre Orb.”

Ren followed Matsuda onto the top floor of the theatre, touted as Japan’s ‘Broadway in the Sky’. It was a seven-floor complex usually dedicated to musical theatre and plays. Though for this week, it was fashion central. Ren stuck out even more here than he did outside. Security guards gave him cold, scrutinizing glares even with the presence of Matsuda; fashion designers and models either ignored him or looked at him like he was _natto_ that had been left out in the sun for a few days.

“You can get changed in here, Amamiya-san.” Matsuda said, opening a door to a small dressing room. “Takamaki-san mentioned that you’d be coming straight here from practice, so I had a tuxedo brought here. She gave me your measurements, so it should be alright.”

“Thanks, Matsuda-san.” Ren looked around the room - it was surprisingly small, with a well-lit vanity that took up most of one wall; there was also a small bathroom. The only piece of furniture was a single padded armchair. “A private room? I’m surprised this isn’t being used.”

“It’s actually fairly inconvenient for our makeup artists and stylists.” Matsuda explained. “Not enough room to move around with all their gear. Just head out to the runway after and show your badge to one of the staff. They’ll direct you to your seat.” The agent left Ren to get cleaned up and changed.

Ren showered and changed into the tuxedo, carefully adjusting the black bow tie in the mirror. He smiled.

_‘Perfect.’_

He had been Ann’s boyfriend for long enough now that he was at least able to put on fancy clothes properly. As he put on the jacket, a neatly folded piece of paper fell out of the breast pocket. He unfolded the note, catching the scent of Ann’s favorite perfume.

_‘Hey Wildcard,_

_Hope the tux fits! If you can’t get the bow tie right, just ask my Mom to help you. Maybe don’t let her tie it for you in front of Daddy, though._

_Wish me luck! Can’t wait to see you at the after party._

_Your Songbird’_

Ren tucked the note into his pocket, smiling in anticipation as he left the dressing room. He hoped Ann was okay - she was on the verge of accomplishing one of her dreams, after all. He approached the seats around the runway. People were just finding their seats. Ren craned his neck, trying to look over the milling crowd to find a staff member for directions. Instead of staff, a familiar voice called out.

“Ah! Amamiya-kun! We’re over here!”

Ren turned; Erika Takamaki waved happily at the boxer. The designer had opted for a classic look - a simple but elegant black dress, with her chestnut hair drawn into a stylish up-do. As always, Ren was struck by how similar she looked to Ann. Beside her stood her husband, imposing and handsome as usual. He favored Ren with a firm handshake.

“Kei-chan showed me a video of your fight. Congratulations on your win at Nationals! I never thought I’d see Razor Ruddock’s smash in a Japanese high school boxing match.”

“Thanks, Elias-san. It’s really thanks to Kana-chan, though.” Ren replied. He glanced off to the side, catching some curious eyes on him - the same models and industry people who ignored him earlier. 

“Kana-chan… Kaname Takeda, yes? Kei-chan’s mentioned her. The daughter of the former Japanese champion…” Elias trailed off, following Ren’s gaze. He raised an eyebrow at the young boxer.

Erika took hold of Ren’s arm, squeezing it fondly. “Don’t pay them any mind, Amamiya-kun. These fashion shows are as much about networking and scheming as they are the clothes. Right now, they’re wondering which handsome young model’s caught the eye of Elias and Erika Takamaki.”

Ren shook his head as they sat. “It’s a bit ridiculous. Some of these people are the same ones who flat-out ignored me when I walked in.”

Elias, sitting on the other side of Erika, shrugged. “Clothes make the man, Amamiya-kun. And this _is_ the first time I’ve seen you do something with your hair.”

Ren laughed. “Fair enough. Have either of you seen Ann yet?”

“Just this morning.” Erika said. “She seems fine. More professional and serious than I would have guessed she would be, though.”

Elias sighed. “It really is like she went and grew up while we were gone.”

Ren rubbed his chin thoughtfully. _‘Songbird… Professional? Serious? Not to say she screws around in her photoshoots, but she’s at her best when she’s having fun…’_

“Uhm… Pardon me.” Matsuda was standing in front of the three of them. He bowed politely. “And Elias-san, Erika-san. Sorry for interrupting. I think your daughter would like to speak with Amamiya-kun for a moment.”

>>>

Ann was separated from the runway, crowd, and cameras only by a thin partition as she stood backstage, waiting for the show to start. For the umpteenth time, she adjusted the white gold bangle on her left wrist. It was, after all, the safest part of her outfit she could fidget with. Adjusting the deep-violet mermaid style evening dress she wore, touching her meticulously styled hair, or smudging her makeup could invite the wrath of the army of stylists and makeup artists standing by for last-minute touch-ups.

_‘I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I’m standing in line to walk the runway on the last day of Tokyo Fashion Week…’_

It wasn’t the first time Ann had been on a runway, of course. But it was always at smaller shows. Or for events meant for the ‘junior talent’ of Japan. This was her first major international event; her first time standing in line with international models of this stature. Ann barely slept enough to make sure she didn’t wake up with bags under her eyes. She had been given permission to skip school today, so she had gone directly to Shibuya Hikarie. Then all day, it took every ounce of focus she had to hold together some semblance of professionalism, to not go starstruck as every single model she looked up to arrived. 

She nearly had a heart attack when Veronica Williams (top talent from the UK) smiled at her. She then just about dissolved into a gibbering mess when Hyun Ji Park (superstar from Korea) took the time to greet her.

“Uhm… Ann Takamaki-san, yes?” She had said, in accented Japanese. She smiled at her, nearly turning her from gibbering mess into cosmic dust. She was _dazzling_. “Welcome to Fashion Week! I’ve seen your work in _Vague_ Japan. You’re so graceful! And your eyes…”

Ann briefly wondered if Ren would be angry if she went home with her. The blonde shook her head ruefully. She had a better understanding of how Ren was around Yamanaka, now.

She stared at her bangle, adjusting it yet again. It was better than looking up. Or around. She felt like she stuck out. Not so much for her blonde hair and height - if anything, light colored hair and tall women were _common_ backstage. Instead, she felt a stifling sense of imposter syndrome.

_‘I don’t belong here. They’re all so much more poised and beautiful than I am. They have a certain gravity. I’m just barely hanging on. I can’t do this. I don’t--’_

“Takamaki-san?”

Ann blinked, looking up to see her agent, Tsuyoshi Matsuda. “Matsuda-san? Is everything okay?”

“Ah… Just come with me for a moment, Takamaki-san. We still have a little time.” Matsuda said. He turned, nearly running headlong into a stylist. He stammered out several apologies as he led Ann to a secluded corner backstage. “Just in here, Takamaki-san.”

Matsuda turned, leaving.

Ann looked around in confusion. There was nothing in the poorly-lit corner but some curtains hanging down from the rafters. “Matsuda-san? Where are you--”

“Hey, Songbird.”

Ann jumped as Ren slipped out of the shadows. It seemed Phantom Thief habits died hard - he still moved easily out of the darkness. He held out his arms, smiling warmly at her.

“Ren!” Ann gasped. She stepped into him, hugging him tightly. “How did you get backstage?! You’re supposed to be out there with my parents, aren’t you?”

“I was.” Ren said, hugging her back. “Matsuda-san said you wanted to talk to me. Why are you so surprised?”

Ann blinked, pulling back just a little to look up at Ren. “Because I didn’t tell him to find you at all... He was just standing nearby, keeping an eye on things when he left all of a sudden. Though, he was right.” Ann murmured, sighing softly. “I… I was freaking out. ...Oh. Your bow tie’s all wrong, Wildcard.”

Ann frowned, reaching to re-tie and adjust it. “Honestly, I must have shown you how to do this a hundred times. How can you be such a talented guy, but--...”

She trailed off, eyeing Ren suspiciously. He was looking up into the rafters. Ann shook her head, starting to laugh as she finished with the bow tie. “You _had_ it right, didn’t you? You purposely messed it up before you came back here. To distract me from freaking out!”

Ren smiled sheepishly. “You got me. Did it work?”

Ann giggled. “You know… It kinda did. ...How long exactly have you known how to tie ties properly?”

“For a while.” Ren admitted. He blushed faintly. “I… like it when _you_ do it for me.”

“Such a romantic sap." Ann said, fondly.

“Mm. Anyway, Songbird… Why are you so worried?”

Ann sighed, resting her head against his chest. “I just… don’t think I belong here yet, you know? I’m still in high school, but I’m lined up beside models who are to me the equivalent of Yamanaka-san to you. I feel like this giant fake.”

“You say that… But you said ‘ _yet_ ’.”

“Eh?” Ann looked up at him; those grey eyes sparkling for her - just her.

“You said you ‘don’t think you belong here _yet_ .’ Doesn’t that mean you always thought you’d get here? What’s the difference if it’s just a little earlier than you thought?” Ren smiled softly at her. “I think all you need to do, Ann, is show the world even half of how _I_ see you.”

Ann stifled her tears; it wouldn’t do to ruin the makeup. “And how do you see me?”

He leaned in; her heart hammered in her chest not for her anxiety, but for him. “As the most beautiful. As the most graceful. As the most kind. As my everything.”

Ann tilted her chin up, anticipating the soft feel of his lips.

Her eyes snapped open. “Ah. Wait, Ren. My makeup, you can’t--...”

He gently took her hand; he placed the back of her hand lightly on her own mouth. She gasped softly as he kissed her palm. Gradually, her eyes drifted closed. She forgot about the feel of her hand between them. Somehow, she felt just his warmth; the depth of his feelings for her. The strength of his belief in her. For some reason, this kiss - separated by the width of her hand - was perfectly intimate.

He took hold of her hand again, squeezing it gently. “Are you alright, now?”

Ann brushed at a tear, unsuccessfully stifled. “Mm. Better than alright.”

“Then knock ‘em dead, Songbird.”

>>>

To Ren, most of the show was terribly confusing. There was a parade of incredibly attractive women, but many were wearing clothes that could only really be called ‘clothes’ because they were draped over a human being. He stared blankly at a woman wearing an armless - literally armless, because it had no holes for them - white ‘dress’ shaped like an hourglass, accompanied with bright red sneakers. Her expression was utterly solemn, and everyone around him applauded heartily.

Ren leaned over to Erika and Elias. “Ah… what…?”

Erika giggled at Ren’s reaction. “It’s not an outfit that will ever be sold, Amamiya-kun. These shows don’t just showcase clothing meant to sell. It’s also a chance to convey a general _theme_ of a fashion line… Also, artists and designers also take the opportunity to show off new fabrics and techniques.”

Elias nodded, scrawling some notes. “That dress, for example. The hourglass shape is holding perfectly despite not having any wire or frame. It’s a brilliant fusion of materials engineering with fashion.”

“Ah. Right. Like a concept car show.” Ren said.

“Mm. Exactly. Though, some ideas are better left on the drawing board.” Elias said, watching as an American model stepped out, wearing a dress made entirely of upcycled micro-USB cables. He perked up at the next model. “Ah! It’s Kei-chan!”

Ann strode out confidently in the violet evening dress she had been wearing backstage. Any remaining concern Ren had about how she would do evaporated as his girlfriend walked the runway.

She didn’t just belong among the models - she _owned_ the runway. At the end of the path, she turned crisply, casting a little smile into the crowd that was all sophistication and smoulder. In that moment, before his eyes, she transformed from a highschool-aged model into some ageless being… Untouchable. 

Ren was utterly captivated.

 _‘If I felt like a country bumpkin_ **_before_ ** _…’_ He thought, in quiet awe. Somehow that was _his girlfriend_. As she passed him, he hoped that little quirk remaining at the corner of her lips and that shimmer in her aquamarine gaze were just for him. But as the cameras flashed and clicked, and the audience clapped and murmured, he realized - it wouldn’t be long before people across the world hoped for the same.

The rest of the show went on; Ren eagerly waited for each of Ann’s turns down the runway as she switched between outfits and looks. He thought he had seen her in her element before during photoshoots and the smaller shows she had been at. It seemed those were the equivalent of all his matches leading up to Nationals. Impressive, but ultimately just building blocks towards something else.

Ren glanced over at Ann’s parents as she took her final turn.

Erika was beaming at her daughter, her notepad and camera forgotten. For the moment, she wasn’t a fashion designer - just a proud mother. Elias didn’t forget _his_ camera, instead snapping far more pictures than needed to capture the details of the outfit Ann was modeling. The normally stoic Finnish man’s eyes were shining. He caught Ren’s eyes; a sheepish smile crossed his face. Ren chuckled quietly, just shrugging a little.

After the show, Ren followed Erika and Elias to the after-party, set on the top floor of Shibuya Hikarie. He stepped out of the elevator, trying not to stare. At everything. The ice sculptures, the beautiful people, the glitz and glamour.

“We’ll leave you here, Amamiya-kun.” Erika said. “Elias and I actually have a meeting in one of the board rooms on this floor. No party for us, I’m afraid.”

Ren frowned, glancing out at the crowd. He wasn’t _normally_ afraid of mingling, but this clearly wasn’t his world. He turned back to Ann’s parents. “Right. Good night, then, Erika-san, Elias-san. Thanks for--”

A light touch at his elbow cut him off. He knew immediately it was Ann, from the pressure, the way her hands held his arm just _so_.

She wore a navy blue dress, high necked, seemingly fairly conservative except for the fact that it was form-fitting and bared her shoulders. Her long hair was up in an elegant French twist. She smiled at her parents.

“Thanks for looking after Ren!”

Erika stepped forward, hugging her daughter. “Oh, of course, Kei-chan. You two have a nice night, now.”

Elias moved to hug his daughter as well; he was forestalled by Erika’s hand on his chest.

“We’re going to be late, Elias. Come on, then.” Erika chided. “You can hug your daughter when she gets home.”

“Right.” Elias hesitated, but nodded. He smiled at Ann. “We’re very proud of you, Kei-chan.” He glanced at Ren, frowning just _slightly_. “...Curfew’s 0100 tonight, Amamiya-kun. No detours.”

“Yessir.” Ren replied.

Ann giggled as her parents left them. She looked up at Ren, her hands clasped in front of her. “You always try to be such a good boy around Daddy.”

“I try. He still terrifies me.” Ren said.

“Mm. Shall we?” Ann took a few steps away, towards the party.

Ren froze. Now he knew why Erika stopped Elias from hugging Ann. The dress was high-necked, but completely backless. From the nape of her neck, just past the small of her back. Just a few centimetres lower, and he’d _just_ see where concave would become convex, and…

Ann looked back over her shoulder. She smirked.

Ren shook his head, moving to catch up. “...It’s going to be really hard to keep being a good boy, Songbird.”

“Mm. I’m counting on it, Wildcard.”

>>>

“Matsuda-san said we can just leave your tuxedo and my dress in the room you changed in, Wildcard.” Ann said as she stepped off the elevator with Ren. She was holding onto his arm, like she had for most of the after-party that they had just left.

The night had continued to be dream-like for the aspiring model.

Ann smiled, hugging Ren’s arm happily as they made their way through the mostly empty backstage. _‘Though I guess ‘aspiring’ doesn’t really apply anymore.’_

She had spent the after-party mingling and networking, meeting colleagues of her parents, celebrities, and the who’s who of modeling. She even received feedback from some of her fellow models. Some of her senpai even seemed to be a little guarded around her; even slightly resentful. Ann didn’t mind. She _was_ young to be in the event. And really… it meant that they considered her one of _them_ , and a legitimate threat.

But the best part of it all was the man on her arm.

She could tell that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with this world, with the ostentatious shows of wealth and flashy, often ridiculous people. She could see the faint beginnings of an amused smirk on his face as one of the models they were chatting with started talking about how gluten was the cause of all the world’s evils, from celiac disease to global warming. He held it together, though. He behaved, nodding politely.

Though, with a face of picture-perfect innocent curiosity, he asked the young lady in question what gluten was. And somehow, he kept a straight face, nodding encouragingly as she stammered through a convoluted explanation that somehow named saturated fats and 5G networks as ‘gluten.’

Ann had to take a generous swig of her Cinderella cocktail to contain her giggles. The entire night, Ren had been the perfect escort. Polite, funny, charming. And of course, there was the way he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world, despite the fact they were literally surrounded by beautiful people.

They walked into the small dressing room. Ann grimaced at the nearly-blinding vanity mirror’s border of lightbulbs, prompting her to turn the dial on the dimmer switch way down. Their Shujin uniforms were already hanging on the back of the door, washed and pressed, along with a short note from Matsuda. Ann shook her head, smiling. “Matsuda-san’s amazing. He always looks so frazzled, but he never misses a thing.”

“No. He doesn’t.”

Ann blinked, looking up at the flat tone in Ren’s voice. “Ren…?”

He was standing in the middle of the small room, beside the single padded chair in front of the vanity. The boxer was studying the mirror, his face visible to her only in profile. For a moment, he looked similar to when he was briefly angry and jealous about Kurosawa. Before she could say anything though, he let out a brief chuckle. His shoulders relaxed as he laughed.

“Sorry, Songbird.”

“What’s wrong?” Ann asked, leaning against the door. “You’re not jealous of Matsuda-san, are you? He’s my agent. It’s his job to watch me…”

“I was, for a bit.” Ren said. “Because he actually sees you. He sees more than your blonde hair and good looks. He sees how hard you work, how kind you are… But from what I saw tonight, he’s not going to be the only one. Not for long. You were surrounded by beautiful people, but you still stuck out. I mean… That’s why I told you to only show the world _half_ of how I see you.”

“Oh…”

“I think I just want to keep you all to myself.” He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling as he continued. “But that’s impossible, isn’t it? This is just the start for you. The entire world’s going to see how incredible you are. What am I supposed to do with that…?”

Ann shook her head with a little smile. “I thought exactly the same thing when people stopped seeing you as a criminal, Ren. And then again when you won at Nationals. I think it’s a good thing, you know? We’re always pushing each other to be better.”

Ren nodded. He smiled warmly at her, turning to face her. Ann’s heart skipped a beat. He really did look good in that tuxedo. “I really am proud of you, Ann. My world-famous model…” He chuckled, his laughter deep and resonant in the small room. “If you keep pushing me like this, though, I’m not sure if there’s any way to match you other than going pro and aiming at the world championship.”

“You’re already a perfect match for me, Wildcard.” Ann said. “I won’t have anyone else.”

Ren walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. “Glad to hear it, Songbird.”

Ann sighed softly, burying her face against his shirt. “Mm… ...Oh. You’re wearing the cologne I left you?”

“Yeah. Not really my thing, but… …”

“It suits you.” Ann mumbled, nuzzling at his collar, her arms sliding over his shoulders. The scent by Rochas - a mix of vanilla, chocolate, and espresso - mingled perfectly with the perpetual coffee notes that Ren typically had on him. As she savored the scent and felt his warmth against her, it hit her that they were finally alone. In a dimly lit, cozy room. A dimly lit, cozy room with the boy she loved _so_ much. 

Ren sighed. “I’m glad we talk these things out. If this was a shoujo manga, we’d be in some long-winded arc where we drive each other away through our mutual insecurity.”

- _click-_

And it was, of course, a dimly lit, cozy room with a lock.

“Ann…?”

“Not a shoujo, Wildcard. Maybe some other kind of manga, though…” She walked him back into the middle of the room, gently pushing him down into the chair. She settled onto his lap, stroking his face, smiling at him through lidded eyes. He really did look incredible in his tuxedo.

“Really.” Ren said, holding her around her waist. He smirked slightly. “What kind?”

She answered him by pressing her lips against his. Slow and soft quickly gave way to parted lips, mingled breath, and shared heat. She moaned softly against his mouth, her back bowing in response to the fingers he traced up her spine, exposed by the backless dress she wore. She giggled at his quiet, frustrated murmur as he tried to undo the collar that held up the top of the dress. There weren’t any obvious buttons or ties.

Ann leaned back, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She reached to the nape of her neck to undo the collar of the halter-style garment.

Ren caught her wrist. His eyes were dark in the dim light; the baritone of his voice sent little shivers down her spine and made her increasingly aware of the heat spooling in her core.

“No. I want to do it.”

Somehow, it was always surprising how that was all it took for a deep blush to blossom across her cheeks, for her voice to stutter. He could wield that voice of his like a weapon.

“O...okay. The clasps are the little beads…” She managed to say, before he captured her lips again. One arm kept her held closely against him. The other caressed the nape of her neck before finding the cleverly designed beads, flicking the collar open. He slid the fabric off her body; the strapless bra she wore underneath was discarded onto the floor. She stopped him as he started kissing her decolletage and gently palming her breast.

“Just… hang on, Wildcard. This isn’t my dress, remember?” Ann said, already a little breathless. “I have to take it off carefully.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. His smoky eyes regarded her mischievously; his little rakish smirk would have annoyed her if it wasn’t so _hot_.

“So take it off, then. Carefully.” Ren purred, gesturing at the floor in front of the chair.

Ann felt even more heat creep up her neck, her face, right to the tips of her ears - at both the way she _felt_ his voice, and as she realized what he wanted her to do. Ann shook her head, leaning in to kiss his ear. She nipped at his earlobe, drawing a sharp breath from him. “Don’t get too cocky, Wildcard. I know your weak spots too, remember? But… I’ll play along. For now.”

She stood up, turning her back to him. She could feel his eyes tracing over her, from the nape of her neck to the small of her back. She knew from the way that his breath hitched he was drinking in the sight of every millimetre of skin she revealed, particularly as she bent over in front of him. The barely-there G-string got a murmured curse. She hung the dress up on the wall; she returned to sitting on Ren’s lap, smirking slightly at the hardness and heat she could feel through his pants. She kissed him again, moaned softly into his mouth when his hands started to roam over her nearly-naked body, caressing, stroking, squeezing. She sighed softly, cradling his head he feathered his lips down her neck, her chest. He nuzzled her breasts, kissing a languid spiral until his lips rested just around the nipple, the wet and heat delicious before he even started swirling his tongue over her, ending with a gentle flick at the tip.

“Ah… Ren…” Ann whispered, feeling him slide hand down her back, over the smooth contour of her backside. Her heart raced with anticipation, feeling him slide the thin strip of fabric aside, gently teasing her wet folds with the tips of his fingers. She whimpered, letting her hips sink back; his fingers slid into her, started rubbing and slowly thrusting in the way she liked. All the while he started sucking on her breasts, switching back and forth slowly, without any sense of urgency.

He was teasing her. Refusing to go faster, even when his hand was soaked with her arousal, and her hips started shuddering and bucking against him. He knew what she wanted, but held it just out of reach. She could feel his little smirk against her skin, the way he would stop just shy of rubbing that sensitive spot inside her vagina that just _ached_ for him now. He knew her so well.

But she knew him, too.

She clutched his head. She moaned and whined into his ear; she kissed and licked. “Ren… _Please_ …”

Ann smiled smugly, feeling him briefly freeze. She continued nuzzling and murmuring into him, taking full advantage of the effect _her_ voice had on him. His kisses went from teasing to hungry; his fingers delved deeply into her. His hips thrust up against her, despite the fact that he was still fully clothed.

“God… Ann…” Ren growled, as she changed her sit to a straddle, and added slow, steady grinding against his crotch to her aural onslaught.

Ann cried out, panting and shuddering as he finally massaged and rubbed at her G-spot, giving her the release she needed. But, as usual, it just made her want more of him.

“Mm… You’re overdressed, Wildcard.” Ann murmured, tugging at his bow tie. She leaned back to look at him; she reached back, undoing the French twist and letting her golden locks tumble down her back, giving them a little shake. She knew what _that_ would do to him, too.

His bow tie hit the floor, followed by his shirt. She studied him as he worked on his belt and fly, running her hands slowly across his bare shoulders.

She remembered when they met last year. He was cute, then. A pretty face, with a lanky, slender form. But now, as he grew into his frame and dedicated himself to his training, what was ‘cute and pretty’ had become ‘sexy and chiseled’. And most importantly, ‘hers’.

“Ann?” Ren looked at her curiously.

She must have been staring too long. She leaned in, kissing his cheek, hugging him. “Mm. Nothing, Wildcard. Just thinking that I should remind you that you’re the only one that gets to see _every_ side of me.”

Ann slipped off his lap, settling onto her knees in front of his chair. She took hold of his cock and closed her mouth around him, her tongue caressing him as she sucked and bobbed her head slowly. She looked up, feeling him sweep her hair aside. He was watching her, his face flushed, his lips parted. He gently caressed her hair as she went down on him. As she increased her pace, his head lolled back onto the back of the chair.

“Ah… Ann…” He groaned.

“Mm…” She moaned around him, her free hand sliding between her legs. She wondered how she looked like this - on her knees, between his legs. So turned on by how she was making Ren fall apart that she felt compelled to pleasure herself. Ren’s eyes weren’t on her. When he saw, he’d probably--

A sharp intake of air. A gentle, but firm push away. He picked her up and pulled her onto his lap, claiming her mouth hungrily, desperately. He gripped her waist, positioning her; her hand guided his cock into her sex, so wet and ready for him that he hilted himself into her with a single, hard stroke. Ann gasped and cried out loudly, clutching his shoulders and gripping at the hair on his nape as her body shook at the sudden penetration.

He didn’t give her time to adjust - not that she needed it. As he thrusted up against her she started grinding her hips, riding him slow and hard, dragging out the pace in the same way he had tortured her earlier. Soon, he was practically growling, rakish charm and wit giving way to instinctive need and want. Feeling his hands grip her harder and harder, Ann started grinding and thrusting faster. She rested her head on his shoulder, her hips still pumping hard against him. Her eyes, glassy and overcome with pleasure, caught sight of their reflection in the vanity.

Entwined limbs… Sweat on flushed skin. She licked her lips, watching in rapt fascination how his muscles flexed as he had his way with her; how her breasts bounced and her hips shook as she rode him hard and fast. It quickly became too much.

“ _Ren!_ ” She screamed. Watching him fuck her - watching _herself_ fuck _him_ \- tipped her over the edge. She sobbed and screamed his name, pleaded for him to come inside of her, to give her what she wanted. Her thrusts and grinds against him became wild and frantic, driving him deep inside of her and triggering his own release. She cried out again as he pulsed and spasmed inside of her, the feeling and thought of his cum filling her pushing her into a small aftershock of an orgasm. She eventually settled into little whimpers against his shoulder as she rode out the last few little waves, resting limply against him, panting.

“Mm... Ren...” Ann mumbled, tiredly kissing Ren’s cheek.

“...I think I need to get a mirror in my room.” Ren said, after enjoying the afterglow and cuddling for a moment.

Ann blinked. She sat up. “W-what?!”

Ren raised an eyebrow. He smirked at her. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you watching?”

Ann sighed, shaking her head with a little resigned smile. They slowly got up; Ann leaned against Ren, her knees a little shaky. “You’re the worst, Wildcard. I love you… God. If Shiho ever found out, I’d never hear the end of it…”

“Like I’d ever tell her.” Ren laughed. “Come on. Let’s shower and get going. Need to make curfew, right? At least this doesn’t really count as a detour…”

>>>

Shiho smiled happily, watching the stream of the fashion show for the second time that evening. She had watched it live, of course. And now for a study break, she was watching it again. She glanced at her phone. It was just before midnight; Ann still hadn’t replied to her congratulatory texts.

 _‘Heh. Champ probably found a quiet corner to ‘congratulate’ her…’_ Shiho mused.

Her phone buzzed. Shiho reached over eagerly. To her surprise, it wasn’t Ann, but Futaba.

**FS: Shiho. I found what you asked for. Sending you the link via email.**

**SS: Thanks, Gremlin.**

**FS: Good luck. The list is… ...I can’t make heads or tails of it. Some of the stuff on there, though…**

Shiho paled. She opened the email from Futaba, clicking on the link - it was a list of Makoto’s recent purchases on Amazon and other online retailers. The volleyball ace sighed in relief. Most of the items were pretty normal.

“Mechanical pencils, USB drives…” Shiho mumbled, scrolling down. “All harmless. What was Gremlin talking about--...”

Shiho’s eyes widened.

_‘Kryptonite bike lock… But she doesn’t own a bicycle.’_

_‘Cable zip ties, pack of 100… That’s a little unsettling.’_

_‘...200 litre drum of ‘Passion Lube’... ….’_

And that was just the start of odd items.

“What the _fuck_?!” Shiho’s mind raced through the possibilities. What could Makoto possibly do with 200 litres of water-based lubricant, zip ties, an unbreakable lock, and… Shiho scrolled down. A singing plastic sea bass, mounted on a plaque?

Shiho impulsively grabbed her phone, opening up her conversation with Makoto. 

**SS: Hey, Mako-chan. I talked with RyuRyu the other day, and he said some crazy thing about how you’re actually not too busy to come to the festival. Crazy, right? I mean, with your classes, and your part time job, and your volunteer work.**

**MN: … … … …**

Shiho broke into a cold sweat, watching the ellipses of a text being typed show up, disappear, and reappear. After an inordinately long wait, her phone chimed.

**MN: Six.**

**SS: …? I’m sorry?**

After a minute, her phone chimed again.

**MN: Five.**

Shiho blinked. She glanced at the time. Just a minute past midnight, now. The blood in her veins turned to ice. It was now October 22nd. The Cultural Festival started on the 27th.

**SS: ...Mako-chan. Are you counting down the days until the festival?**

**MN: Goodnight, Shiho.**

**SS: Mako-chan?**

**SS: Seriously? You’re not coming, right?**

**SS: Right?**

**MN: I’m turning off my phone, Shiho.**

**MN: … … … …**

**MN: Sleep well :)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do need to write what happened during that motorcycle trip. It's fun just writing 'around' it, though. Same with whatever Shiho did on Valentine's Day to Makoto and Ryuji.
> 
> 'Cheating' - the best pro athletes cheat within the rules of the game. Like running pick plays in hockey and basketball. Technically you can't impede another player. But if you *happen* to be running by, and you *happen* to get in their way for a second... The stuff Ren's doing is sorta like this. Grey-area.
> 
> Yes, you can indeed get 200L/55 gallon drums of lube on Amazon.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cultural Festival! How will two hundred litres of 'personal' lubricant play into Makoto's plans?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitions/Terms
> 
> Kuro - Black. You need to read/remember this for a certain conversation in this chapter to be a little amusing.
> 
> BL - Boys love. Genre of manga popular amongst people who like watching pretty boys fall in love with other pretty boys
> 
> 'Fifth business' - Borrowed from Robertson Davies. It's a fictional term that he came up with for his novel (named the same), but it fits the role Shiho's taken and feels comfortable in: "Those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were nonetheless essential to bring about the Recognition or the denouement, were called the Fifth Business in drama and opera companies organized according to the old style; the player who acted these parts was often referred to as Fifth Business." 
> 
> Deload - Down phase of a training cycle, meant for recovery etc.
> 
> Songs:  
> [I Love Paris ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5IgjCzMlVo)  
> [Fever ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGb5IweiYG8)
> 
> I imagine different arrangements of course; instruments used in this fic are piano/trumpet/bass/drums/vocal only.

October 26, 2017 

“So, tell me a little more about your training for Nationals, Amamiya-kun. You’ve mentioned to me previously that the ‘smash’ you used was your trainer’s idea?” Mari asked, glancing down at her notes. It was after school on Thursday, in the boxing team’s club room/gym. As per the deal she made with Ren, she was sitting beside him on a bench and exercising her right to an interview.

“That’s correct.” Ren said, glancing over at Kaname. She was with Kaoru, making him bob, weave, and punch around multiple ‘slip ropes’ that had been tied across the ring. “She was the one who noticed the potential for it. We spent months working on it.”

“It must be quite beneficial for you that she followed you to Shujin.” Mari nodded. “I imagine her methods are quite similar to her father?”

“Very similar. She's a little more strict though.” Ren laughed. He then winced with sympathy as Kaname threw two hitting mitts with incredible accuracy, each of them smacking Eiji and Shou in the back of the head. The ‘Idiot Twins’ were on the heavy bags. In theory, they were training - but the number of haymakers and unnecessary grunting had increased tenfold when the attractive journalist from _Boxing Fan_ arrived to interview Ren.

“That’s not punching, jerks! That’s flailing! Don’t think I’m not watching you!” Kaname snarled.

Mari chuckled. “I see. We haven’t talked much about your time in Kamakura, Amamiya-kun. What was it like, training under the famous former Japanese featherweight champion?”

Ren smiled. “It’s hard to summarize in just a few words, Minoru-san. I started training under Coach Takeda before I ever knew he was a former champion. I was still in elementary school, and I didn’t know much about boxing. That gym… That gym became my second home. It was like that for all of us.”

“I see.” Mari said, glancing at her notes. “Any boxer who’s trained with Coach Takeda long enough is often called a ‘son of Takeda’.”

“That’s right.” Ren said, proudly. “For a while, all I wanted to do was go pro and follow in Coach Takeda’s footsteps.”

“And now? What are your plans after the Winter Cup, Amamiya-kun?”

Ren frowned. “I’m… not sure.” He said, shaking his head. “I’m not the guy I used to be. I can’t talk about the pro ring so casually. For now, I plan to focus on the Winter Cup and university entrance exams. I can’t say much more beyond that.”

“Even with the interest Mamoru Yamanaka’s shown in your career so far?” Mari asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Ren laughed, waving a hand. “Even with that.” 

Mari turned off the recording app on her phone, standing up. “Thanks, Amamiya-kun. That should be plenty. I won’t ask if you’re preparing any new moves for the Winter Cup tournament. Apparently everyone in the welterweight division is coming up with an ‘anti-Amamiya’ strategy.”

Ren shrugged, standing up as well; the corner of his lip quirked slightly. “They’ll _try_.”

Mari blinked. She then barked a short, delighted laugh. “I should have left my recorder on. A little swagger suits you better than polite interview answers.” She returned the smirk, eyeing Ren up and down. “You know. If I were just a few years younger…”

Ann materialized at Ren’s side, casually taking hold of his arm. “Oh, Minoru-san. You’re done with the interview, now? In that case, _my_ _boyfriend_ and I need to get going. We have to get ready for the Cultural Festival. You understand, I’m sure. Bye~”

Ren laughed. He smiled at Ann as she led him away from a bemused Mari Minoru. “Are you actually worried?”

“Not really. It’s not like she’s Yamanaka-san.” Ann said wryly. “It’s just… We should get to Crossroads. Kurosawa-kun’s expecting us, remember? It’s our last rehearsal before the festival.”

Ren looked at Ann - her faint blush, the way she clung to his arm. The way her eyes sparkled just a little more than usual. He gave her his best roguish grin.

“You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that your parents just left on a two month business trip? And that Ba-chan isn’t home today?”

Ann’s color deepened - especially at the wolf-whistles from Eiji and Shou.

“Seriously, Wildcard?” She didn’t deny it though. The model had looked forward to the next two months of what would amount to basically shacking up, aside from the odd cursory visit from Ba-chan.

“Heh--Ow!” A rolled up hand wrap struck Ren in the side of the head. Two more nailed Eiji and Shou.

“If you’re going to flirt, hurry up and leave.” Kaname glared at Ren. “ _You_ have permission to head out early, but the rest of these _idiots_ …” She turned to glare at Shou and Eiji. “...Still owe me some _actual_ practice.”

“Right. Sorry, Kana-chan. Do you need me to pick anything up for our booth at the festival?”

Kaname shook her head, glancing over at the equipment currently stored in the corner of the club room. “We’re good. Just be on time.”

Ann frowned. “I’m still not completely behind the idea, you know. How did you guys even come up with something like that?”

“Oh, come on. It’ll be great. And it was Shiho’s idea.”

Ann rolled her eyes. “Figures.”

>>>

October 27, 2017 

_Imagination_ by SPYAIR started playing from Shiho’s phone, telling the raven-haired volleyball ace that it was time to get up. Usually it was a signal for her to _wake_ up - to untangle herself groggily from the sheets and pillows. Today, though, it was just a signal to literally get up. Because she hadn’t slept all night. Shadows under her eyes, she turned her alarm off.

For the past week, Makoto had sent her a daily countdown of the number of days remaining to the Cultural Festival. That in itself wasn’t so bad.

But there was that list of items that Makoto had purchased. At first, Shiho wondered what Makoto could possibly do with a 200 litre drum of ‘personal lubricant’, cable ties, a singing sea bass, and a Super Soaker water gun. But then, Shiho had contracted Futaba to look into things a little further, pulling a list of suspicious internet search queries from Makoto’s ‘incognito’ tab, dating back to last Valentine’s Day.

_‘How to troll your friends’_

_‘How to out-troll a troll’_

_‘How to make a lockpick’_

_‘How to fill a volleyball with something other than air’_

_‘How to make your friend confess to a guy she likes in a hilarious but ultimately harmless way’_

The list was extensive. If Makoto was anything, she was thorough in her research. That said, research and strange purchases still didn’t mean a whole lot. Makoto was obviously a very intelligent person with a perfect memory, but not a known prankster. Even with all the knowledge and lube in the world, there was still a chance that anything she came up with might be easily avoided. Fortunately, there was a way to find out what her capabilities were.

Even with the Phantom Thieves disbanded, Shiho never really asked any of the group for details. As far as she was concerned, there wasn’t really any use in her knowing more of what happened, and she was already in the habit of ‘plausible deniability’ anyhow. But, after Makoto’s text of ‘Three :)’, Shiho had casually approached Ren to find out what the brunette’s role in the group was in order to get some idea of her capabilities.

_‘Hm? Oh, Makoto? She was pretty much the group’s tactician. I mean, everyone points at me as being the criminal mastermind, but I couldn’t have asked for a better second. I might have come up with the ideas, but the details and execution of the plan? That was her. Why do you ask? ...Are you okay? You look kinda pale, Shiho.’_

So there was definitely a plan. The extensive list of research and strange items meant something. As the days wound down and Shiho’s mind raced through the possibilities, she realized: It wasn’t an issue of what Makoto could possibly do. It was an issue of what _couldn’t_ she do. If their roles were reversed, given months to prepare and the items on the purchase list… The havoc she could cause would be astronomical. After all, with only a few days of preparation, she’d managed to lock Makoto and Ryuji into a storage room together with broken heating and only a single blanket. In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have sprayed Makoto with cold water before shoving her in the room. And the bucket of condoms was likely a _little_ over the top.

Shiho sat up, slowly swinging her feet over the side of her bed. Her phone buzzed with a text. She didn’t have to look at it to know who it was.

**MN: Zero. Good morning, Shiho :)**

Shiho’s eye twitched. She was exhausted. And aside from the countdown over the last week, she’d been on edge since Makoto learned about Kurosawa almost a month ago. The countdown really just accentuated the fact that Makoto had done nothing… _but wait._

**SS: You know, I might not even go today**

**MN: Oh, Shiho. You’re so funny. Would you really just abandon your club like that? You’ve all been working so hard on your play. You’re doing ‘Sleeping Beauty’, aren’t you?**

Shiho bit her lip. That was true. In an effort to distance themselves from Kamoshida’s ‘volleyball rallies’ of the past, the resurrected volleyball club was putting on a play for their entry in the Cultural Festival rather than doing any kind of sporting demonstration. It was ‘Sleeping Beauty’, with the twist that the roles of Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora were actually going to be up for grabs - in exchange for a small donation, people would be allowed to nominate two students to play the roles… Shiho’s eyes widened.

**SS: How did you even know we’re doing that play?!**

**MN: You must have mentioned it.**

**SS: I** **_absolutely_ ** **did not.**

**MN: Oh. How odd. Anyway. See you at Shujin. Shi~chan~ <3**

>>>

“Wow, Shiho. You look _exhausted_.” Ann said, poking at Shiho’s cheek. “Did you sleep at all?”

Shiho swatted at Ann’s hand. “No. And don’t distract me, Blondie. She could be _anywhere_. And I need to avoid Kurosawa, too!”

It was near the end of the morning, and the two besties were taking a turn in advertising class 1-B’s festival entry. Each of them were wearing vintage-style dresses that looked like they were out of the American 1950’s. Ann toted a sign advertising Class 1-B’s ‘Birdland’ jazz cafe. Ann handed the sign to Shiho so she could adjust one of her gloves, shaking her head.

“I don’t think she’s here yet, Shiho. Ryuji’s still helping the track team run their cotton candy stand, remember? He didn’t look obnoxiously happy yet. And why do you want to avoid Kurosawa, anyway? ...Well. Beyond the usual reason of you being _obviously_ into him--”

“Oh, shut it.” Shiho grumbled. “It’s because if Mako-chan’s going to do anything, it’s probably going to be if she catches us together. Didn’t you see the stuff she had on the list?”

“I suppose that’s true. I mean, the thing you pulled on Valentine’s Day involved both her _and_ Ryuji. But are you sure that avoiding Kurosawa is enough?”

“What do you mean?”

Ann gestured at the volleyball club’s table. “I mean, look at what you guys are doing for your play. You didn’t think Makoto could use that?”

Shiho blinked. Her eyes widened. In her sleep-deprived state, she hadn’t even considered the possibility. Anyone could be nominated for the role of Prince Philip and Princess Aurora. It was meant for harmless comedy, mostly - no one expected anyone to kiss anyone. And really, the two nominees would likely forget their lines and force some hilarious improvisation. Hardy the mood for romance.

But it was perfect. If Makoto somehow stuffed the ‘ballot box’ (they were actually using an app), she could set up the perfect troll. And Kurosawa would maybe probably ~~hopefully~~ kiss her. She just hadn’t considered it as a possibility due to the presence of all the weird purchase items and search queries. She assumed Makoto was going to do something fairly unsubtle.

_‘What if it was all a red herring?!’_

Shiho ran over to the table.

The girl sitting there, Yukino Himegi, smiled at Shiho. “Captain! Wow, you look great in that dress. Is that for your class?”

“Yukinon!” Shiho said. “Who’s in the lead so far?!”

“Hm…” The second-year volleyball player swiped at her tablet. “Oh. Uhm… For Prince Philip, it’s a tie between Amamiya-senpai and Kurosawa-senpai.” The girl blushed brightly. “I mean, obviously. You know, it’s too bad one of them can’t be the Princess, too--”

“I don’t care about that!” Shiho paused, thinking of a Kurosawa/Amamiya Sleeping Beauty production. “...Actually, I kinda do. I mean, but which one would be the Prince? Or would they switch part way—Bah. Damnit, Yukinon! Focus! Stop talking about your BL fantasies! And who’s in the lead for the Princess?”

“Hm… It’s changing by the minute. Ever since Kurosawa-senpai and Amamiya-senpai became the runaway one and two, girls have been nominating themselves. This was a great idea, Captain! We’ve earned a lot of money for both the club and the charity.” Yukino said. They were dividing the proceeds from the auction between the club and a local women’s shelter.

Shiho sighed. “So no clear lead. That’s fine--”

“--Oh! Wow. That’s a lot of donations all of a sudden. Uhm.. ...This is exciting. _You’re_ in the lead, Captain.” Yukino said. “That’s great! Though, Amamiya-senpai is your best friend’s boyfriend. It would be better if it was Kurosawa-senpai, wouldn’t it?”

“No! It wouldn’t!” Shiho smacked the table with her palm.

“Oh, _really_.” Ann said, crossing her arms.

“Er, no! You know what I mean!” Shiho snapped, stamping her foot. Her face flushed.

Ann grinned. “Hehe. All offense, no defense. You’re so _cute_ , Shiho.”

“She really is, isn’t she?”

“Uwah!?” Shiho jumped, the sign for 1-B’s ‘Birdland’ flying out of her hands. It was caught perfectly by Makoto, who had casually snuck up on the pair. “M-M-Mako-chan, when did _you_ get here?!”

“Just a little while ago.” Makoto said, handing the sign back to Ann. She smiled. “You two look wonderful. I’ll be sure to stop by this ‘Birdland’ later on.” She peered around Shiho, looking at the table. “Oh? Why does the volleyball club have a table? I thought you were doing a play tomorrow?”

Yukino smiled. “Ah! Welcome back to Shujin, Niijima-senpai. We are, but--”

“Yukinon, no--”

“--we’re actually auctioning off the roles of Prince Philip and Sleeping Beauty. So far, it looks like the Prince is going to either be Kurosawa-senpai or Amamiya-senpai. The role of the Princess is up for grabs, though. Proceeds go to the club and to charity.”

“Oh, really! That’s a good cause.” Makoto said. She took a flyer from the table. She turned to Shiho, smiling pleasantly. “I’ll be _sure_ to contribute. Anyway, I’m going to find Ryuji. I was going to meet him at the track team’s table. We’re all meeting for lunch, though?”

Ann was currently supporting Shiho. The damage was extensive. “Mm. Sure thing, Makoto. See you then!”

Ann shook her head. The two girls from 1-B continued walking. “Honestly, Shiho. What are you so worried about?”

“You heard her. She’s going to stuff the ballot box. Tomorrow, it’s going to be me lying there with Kurosawa standing over me and leaning in and… You know.” Shiho mumbled.

Ann considered her friend for a long moment. “Well. Are you sure that’s the worst possible outcome?”

“!! Of course it is!”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if it was Kurosawa and some other girl?”

Shiho froze. Her stomach tied itself into knots.

“I… of course not. Why would I mind?” Shiho said unconvincingly.

Ann just shook her head with a little smile. “I’ll let you think about that for a bit, Shiho. Let’s go see what the boxing team’s up to.”

The crowd around the Shujin Boxing Club’s area was tightly packed and _loud._ The chatter and noise was punctuated by an occasional splash, followed by shrieks and camera flashes. Unlike their practices, the spectators were an even male/female split. And the reason was quite obvious: the team’s booth was two carnival games. A punching power machine and a dunk tank. The punching power machine was a fun draw for everyone, in particular the elementary-aged visitors who could win small prizes.

As for the dunk tank, people were lined up around the corner. Provided that they could hit the target with a baseball from six metres away, students and guests had the opportunity to drop Ren Amamiya into a tank of water. For the boys, the appeal was dropping the popular boxer into water on a slightly chilly late-October day. For the girls, the appeal was watching the popular boxer _exit_ the water, dripping wet.

Ann muttered darkly for a moment as another splash sounded out. It was followed quickly by shrieks and screams as Ren popped up above the surface of the water, throwing his head back to get his hair out of his face.

 _‘Seriously, Wildcard?’_ Ann groused. The only thing lacking was slow motion. But like the volleyball team, it was for a good cause.

“Hey! Pictures are 100 yen!” Kaname shouted, pointing her shinai at an onlooker.

Ren climbed out of the tank, smiling as he spotted Ann and Shiho. He accepted a towel from one of his kouhai before walking over to them. “Hey, Songbird, Shiho. ...Oh. What’s wrong with Shiho? It looks like smoke’s coming out of her ears.”

Shiho was still mumbling to herself incoherently, trying to perform the mental gymnastics necessary to determine whether it was better if she was voted in as the romantic lead for the play tomorrow or not. She was so distracted that she _wasn’t_ snapping pictures of a shirtless Ren.

“Ah. I think I accidentally broke her brain.” Ann shrugged, patting Shiho’s head gently. “Though in my defense, Makoto’s the one that got her this fragile to begin with. How are things going, here?”

“Pretty good. We’ve actually already hit our goal. And you have good timing. I actually just finished my shift--” Ren paused at the immediate protests and sighs all around. “--So I can spend the rest of the day either in 1-B or with you.”

Ann nodded eagerly. She took the towel from Ren, draping it over his shoulders carefully. “Then go on and get dry, Wildcard. I can’t have you getting sick.”

Ren got changed into his uniform before rejoining Ann and Shiho.

“So who’s taking over for you?” Ann asked.

“Kaoru.” Ren said, pointing.

Kaoru was carefully climbing onto the platform, clad in a t-shirt and shorts. Already, the crowd started to thin out.

“Hm. Looks like that might hurt your profit margin a bit.” Ann said, thoughtfully. Kaoru wasn’t a bad looking guy - cute enough, with a nice smile. But he didn’t have quite the same cachet as his senpai.

“...Heh. Funny you should say that.” Ren said, shrugging. He cupped his hand by his mouth, calling out to Kaoru. “Hey, Kaoru! Might as well lose the shirt! It makes it harder to climb back out of the tank!”

“Oh! Sure thing, senpai! Thanks!” Kaoru tossed Ren his shirt.

There was a sudden silence. Kaoru had been training diligently over the past few weeks, ever since his win at Nationals. Even with the pre-planned break that Kaname included, he was still paying close attention to his diet and strength training. And the results showed.

“...Hey. He’s pretty cute, too.”

“I don’t think he has a girlfriend, either.”

“But doesn’t he spend all that time around Takeda-san?”

“Oh, she’s just his trainer…”

“Ah! Look, he’s blushing!”

The crowd quickly reformed.

Kaname quickly recovered from her shock. She smacked her shinai against the tank, nearly startling Kaoru into the water. “Hey! Pictures are two-hundred--... I mean, FIVE hundred yen!”

“Oh, that’s fine!”

“W-what?!” Kaname was shocked at the immediate agreement.

“It’s totally fine. Kaoru-kun~! Look over here--”

Kaname smacked the dunk tank’s target with her shinai, immediately submerging the boxer with a splash.

Sputtering, Kaoru surfaced. “Kana-chan, what are you--”

“STAY IN THE TANK, IWAI.” Kaname snarled.

“What?! It’s cold in here! Just because you don’t want people taking pictures of me--”

“I-i-it has _nothing_ to do with that!” Kaname yelled, her cheeks turning carmine. She sliced into the water with her shinai, sending a startlingly large wave of water into Kaoru’s face. “Drown! Freeze! I don’t care!”

Ren chuckled. “Ah. We’d better go.”

Ann pouted slightly. “Aw. Really?” She peered into the tank at Kaoru, who was trying in vain to scramble out of the tank as Kaname shoved him back into the tank with a loud splash.

Ren raised his eyebrow as he leaned in, speaking low. “Seriously, Songbird? Are you really ogling, or are you pretending so you can have a ‘jealous boyfriend’ tonight?”

“Yes.” Ann replied, after a moment of consideration. She grinned at Ren.

Laughing, Ren and Ann led a still-mumbling Shiho away.

>>>

Ren, Ann, Mona and Shiho sat down for lunch outside class 3A, where a number of tables had been set up. By now, Shiho had recovered somewhat.

“It’s too bad Haruru and Da Vinci can’t make it this year.” Shiho said. “We had _some_ fun last year, but we were all pretty distracted.” 

“Mm. That’s true.” Ren said.

“Is it just us three for lunch? And what are we having, anyway?” Ann asked. She peered eagerly at the banner posted over 3A. “It’s a cosplay crepe cafe, isn’t it?”

“I already put our order in.” Ren said. “Selection of savory and sweet crepes.”

“Why can’t we just walk up and get it, Wildcard?” Ann asked, already salivating.

“It’s all part of the service. Trust me.” Ren said, grinning.

On cue, one of the students from class 3A walked up to the table. Ann and Shiho’s jaws dropped.

Futaba stood there, wearing a cosplay outfit modeled to look like a tuxedo cat. It wasn’t a shapeless onesie or anything that covered Futaba’s face, but an outfit composed of fitted shorts, t-shirt, cat ears, and tail. She was, in effect, cosplaying as Mona. She held a tray with their order, looking mildly irritated and extremely embarrassed.

“Here’s your order.” She grumbled.

“Oh. My. God.” Ann gasped, covering her mouth. “Futaba-chan, you’re so _cute._ ”

“I know, right?” Ren grinned, as Shiho snapped a picture. “I got a heads-up from Tomoko-chan about it. That’s why I wanted to have lunch here.”

“Well, I think she looks great.” Mona said, nodding. “Though, no yellow bandana? And I wonder if I can charge royalties…”

“Just eat your damn crepes. Siscon. Bleeeeh.” Futaba stuck her tongue out at Ren and put the tray down. She took a seat as well; it was her break.

“Thank mew very meowch.” Ren replied.

After a moment of disgusted silence, Mona looked at Ann. “...Are you _sure_ you’re sticking with him?”

Ann sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Haha. Locked in.” Ren grinned. “Now, just need something to drink.”

“Hey, guys!” Ryuji crowed. “Gotcha covered!”

Ryuji and Makoto arrived, putting down two cardboard drink holders. Shiho snapped to attention, looking nervously at Makoto. She checked over her shoulder, under the table, and in her bag.

“Shiho…? What are you doing?” Ann asked.

Shiho whispered harshly. “Making sure Kurosawa isn’t here!”

“Then why are you looking in your bag…?” Ann asked quietly.

“I don’t know! I’m freaking out!” Shiho hissed, still whispering. “Sue me, Blondie! Give me solutions, not criticism!”

“Solutions to what?!”

“Mako-chan’s planning _something_ ! It might be the play, or it might have to do with two- _hundred_ litres of personal lubricant! Either way, if she says or has anything to do with Kuro--”

“--Black?”

“Uwah!?”

Makoto looked at Shiho curiously, holding out a paper cup filled with coffee. “I said, Shiho, do you take your coffee _black_?”

“Er.. ...yes?” Shiho mumbled, taking the coffee.

“Oh. I think I recognize this. You guys get it from our class?”

“Mm.” Makoto took a sip, sighing. “The jazz cafe idea was quite clever. And having coffee from Leblanc is perfect. This _black_ coffee has a really nice _body_.”

Shiho choked. With a sympathetic smile, Ann started patting her back.

Ren nodded. “It’s pretty good. Most coffee you get out in the major coffee chains doesn’t have that quality. But this one’s really nice. It really sticks to your tongue.”

“Mmhm.” Makoto said. “Almost like you could sink your teeth into it and _chew_ on this _black_ coffee with a nice _body_.”

Shiho squeaked.

“Deceptive aroma, though.” Ren shrugged.

Shiho coughed, finally clearing her throat. Thankfully, they were no longer talking about the exceptionally nice body of the black coffee.

“Well, it starts off with this warming, soft aroma. Makes you think it’s going to just be a delicate, mellow flavor. But it’s pretty complex. If you let it linger, it actually gets pretty _hard_.”

Shiho started choking again. Ann sighed, thumping her friend’s back again.

Makoto took another sip. “Hm. You know Ren-kun, I’m not really an expert on this. But wouldn’t you call this more _rough_?”

Ren frowned thoughtfully. He drank a little more. “Maybe. You’re eating a sweet crepe though, and that can accentuate the slight saltiness of the coffee.”

“So what you’re saying is that this hot, black coffee with a nice body can be either _rough_ or _hard_ depending on how you like it?”

“Sure.” Ren shrugged.

“Ah. Thank you.” Makoto smiled. “What do _you_ think, Shiho?”

“If you think that coffee’s so great why don’t _you_ have sex with it? _!”_ Shiho suddenly yelled.

For the next several seconds, one could have heard a pin drop in the hallway outside of class 3A.

“...Ann! We’re leaving!” Shiho stood up, dragging Ann with her.

Ren sighed, looking at Makoto. “So this is what happens when you use your powers for evil?”

“What powers? I’m not doing _anything_.” Makoto said, with a little smile.

Ren chuckled. “Right. Of course.”

>>>

“Shiho! Where are we even going?” Ann exclaimed as her bestie dragged her down the hall.

“Somewhere where she can’t get to me!” Shiho said, her eyes wide and her sleep-deprived mind racing. “You heard her go on about that coffee, didn’t you?!”

“...Yes? But Ren talks about coffee all the time…”

“All the time?! It’s _filthy._ Tell him to save coffee talk for your ‘sleepovers’ over the next two months.”

Ann turned red. “Not so loud! And besides, we don’t always--”

“Who are you kidding?! You two have been eye-fucking each other all day!” Now on the first floor, Shiho spotted a sign for a haunted maze that had been set up in the gymnasium. “There! Even after the fear training she got from Kana-chan, Mako-chan still doesn’t like that sort of stuff. Come on!”

“The haunted maze? Class 1-D’s putting that one on. Shiho, I don’t think that’s a great idea--”

“Solutions, Ann! Not criticisms!”

The two of them quickly got into the maze.

Ann sighed. “Shiho…”

Shiho peered over her shoulder. “What?”

“Can we stop for a sec?” Ann swatted aside a swinging spider prop. “Maybe we should talk about _why_ you’re this worked up over everything.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? She’s been playing mind games with me for a _month_ !” Shiho said, giving a half-glance at a student from 1-A dressed as a Sadako from _The Ring_. The girl did an excellent job acting, but was disappointed by Shiho’s complete lack of reaction. After all, Shiho was far more terrified of another Japanese girl.

Ann grabbed Shiho’s elbow, dragging her to a dead end of the maze. “Not that, Shiho. You know as well as I do that if Kurosawa didn’t mean anything to you, you wouldn’t even be a little thrown by this.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Shiho said in a pitchy voice.

“ _Really_ ?” Ann asked. “Are you sure it isn’t just you freaking out because whatever Makoto _might_ be doing is just making you really conscious of Kurosawa?”

Shiho pursed her lips stubbornly.

Ann’s expression softened. She put her hands on Shiho’s shoulders. “Shiho… why haven’t you properly rejected him if you don’t want to date him?”

“...it’s not that I hate the idea, Ann.” Shiho mumbled. She crossed her arms in front of her stomach, gripping her elbows.

“Then…?”

Shiho bit her lower lip before speaking in a small voice. “...what if we give it a try, and it doesn’t work out? What if…”

She trailed off, but the unspoken words were clear as a bell to Ann.

_‘What if I’m still too broken?’_

“Oh, Shiho…” Ann pulled her friend in for a hug. “...I forget, sometimes. You always seem so cheerful and energetic. But it’s still hard for you, isn’t it?”

Shiho buried her face against Ann’s shoulder. It was a big part of why she lived so much for her friends; why she was so dedicated to her role of fifth business. Being the facilitator slash photo troll slash Puckish matchmaker of the group brought her joy. Watching and fostering the growth of love and happiness in the people most important to her was a wonderful thing. Even her career choice - medicine - was all about supporting and helping others recover and live to their fullest. It was fulfilling and it was _safe_.

She told herself that it was enough. And for a while, it was.

But if it was really enough, she wouldn’t have worked so hard to take volleyball back. Despite how much it scared her.

And if it was really enough, she wouldn’t spend her days waiting for Kurosawa to ask her out, just so she could sort-of reject him just so he’d ask again the next day.

Ann stroked Shiho’s back. “Shiho… It might not work out. That’s true. You might not be ready. But the only way you’ll find out is by trying, isn’t it? By facing things. I’m not saying you should go out with him, but you should make some kind of decision. Either way, it’s moving forward. And either way, I’ll always be your shoulder to cry on… We all love you, you know? Even Makoto.”

Shiho sighed, squeezing Ann back before taking a step away. “Thanks, Blondie… Let’s get out of here, then. Hiding in this maze is just stupid.”

“So what are you going to do?” Ann asked, as they made their way through.

“I’m not sure yet.” Shiho chuckled, shaking her head. “Man. I was getting really paranoid, there. It’s silly, isn’t it? I haven’t even seen Kurosawa this entire time. I was sure that Makoto was going to orchestrate something where I run right into him.”

“Aheh…” Ann smiled sheepishly. “Funny you should mention that.”

Shiho turned to Ann. “...?”

“Well, remember when I tried to tell you that 1-D’s running this maze?”

“Yes…?” Shiho asked, growing suspicious.

“Well, I was _trying_ to tell you that this is Kurosawa’s class.”

Shiho froze. She then shook her head after a moment, sighing. “It’s fine. We’re almost at the end of the maze, Ann. It’s not like I’m going to walk around the corner and run right into him--oof! Sorry--...”

Shiho’s jaw dropped as she looked up at one Ryoichi Kurosawa. He had his hair slicked back, except for one stray lock that fell perfectly into his face. He sported vampire fangs, as well as _tight_ black pants, and a white long-sleeved shirt that was left carelessly open. He blinked in surprise, and then brightened, with his usual care-free smile. The fact that he wasn’t trying a sleazy come-on somehow made it even worse.

“Suzui-san! Fancy running into you here. I was planning on dropping by your class--”

“NO! NO! SEXY VAMPIRES AREN’T ALLOWED!” Shiho shrieked, bolting out of the maze and down the hall.

Ann sighed. She smiled apologetically at Kurosawa. “I think she’s coming around, Kurosawa.”

Ryoichi shrugged, smiling. “It’s fine. It’s fun even just like this, too.”

“...You’re pretty weird, aren’t you?” Ann asked, laughing.

“Heh. Yeah.” He grinned, pointy teeth and all. “Ready for tomorrow?”

“Mmhm! We’re gonna be great!” Ann beamed. “Shiho will definitely be watching. If she hasn’t had a coronary yet.”

>>>

October 28, 2017 

It was already the afternoon of the Cultural Festival’s second and final day. The various classes and clubs closed down their stands and booths to gather at the post-festival party, held in the auditorium. This year, given that they were no longer contending with the chaos associated with Kamoshida’s change of heart and Kobayakawa’s death, everything was more well-organized, with a number of performances and demonstrations planned.

The school’s administration was also motivated to put on a good show - a few people from the municipal government as well as members of the media had been invited. The festival, along with Shujin’s resurrected sporting teams, was another chance to show the city and prospective students that the private school had recovered from the year of scandals.

Makoto and Ryuji sat perched on the top row of the bleachers set to the side of the stage, apart from the other students.

“Man… Hard to believe that just a year ago, I was just sittin’ on my ass up here, watching you interview Akechi.” Ryuji muttered. He turned his eyes from the kendo club - currently performing a demonstration - to look at Makoto.

Makoto sighed. “I know. It feels like it was an entire lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” She reached over to him, squeezing his hand. “A lot’s happened.”

“Heh. Yeah.” Ryuji grinned, in his usual ‘aw shucks’ expression at the PDA. As much as he liked to think he could play it cool, when it came to Makoto, he just didn’t have it in him. “Y’know, I’m really glad you managed to get time off to come out for this. It’s a bit stupid, right? Just a high school festival.”

Makoto shook her head. “No. It’s not stupid at all, Ryuji. Both of us missed out on enjoying things like this for various reasons. It’s fun for me, too.”

She gave him a sideways glance. “Besides. If I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have learned who the ‘Three Princes of Shujin’ are.”

Ryuji startled, turning red. “Er… I didn’t make that up! I didn’t ask anyone to lump me in, honest!”

“Hmph. I bet you didn’t tell anyone to _stop_ , either.” Makoto said, turning her nose up in an uncharacteristic little pout.

“Er… I’ll start telling them to stop?”

Makoto chuckled, dropping the facade. “It’s fine, Ryuji. I mean... They’re… they’re not wrong, you know?”

Ryuji blinked. “What do you mean?”

Makoto looked over her shoulder reflexively. People still talked about her memorable encouragement on the day of the track meet, and she wasn’t eager to add fuel to the fire. She looked back at him, with rosy cheeks and a shy smile. “...You’re _my_ prince, aren’t you?”

“Ah… heh…” Ryuji embarrassedly rubbed the nape of his neck. He laced his fingers with Makoto’s on the bench between them, squeezing gently. “Man. It’s weird, being able to say stuff like this and not have Shiho here to catch us.”

“Mm. She has a few other things on her mind.” Makoto said, smirking.

“You’ve really thrown her for a loop.”

“Me? I haven’t _done_ anything.” Makoto shrugged. “Well. Until now.”

She took out her phone, loading the app that the volleyball team was using for donations and votes for the roles in their play - which was in fact, the next performance. 

>>>

Shiho stood backstage, glancing at her tablet. It was showing by-the-minute updates on the voting situation for the roles of Prince Philip and Princess Aurora. She bit her lip anxiously. So far, it was Kurosawa in the lead, with Ren a close second and Ryuji in third. And Kaoru was a surprising distant fifth, likely due to his ‘performance’ at the dunk tank. For Aurora, the race was much closer - first place changed frequently. Every time Shiho’s name jumped to the top, her heart raced and her eyes looked for Makoto in the crowd. Could this be the moment that brunette planned for? Was she going to pull an eBay and snipe the auction at the last second?

But every time her name dropped below first, leaving Kurosawa paired with someone else, she bit her lip just a little harder; clenched the tablet until the plastic and aluminum chassis creaked in protest. The kendo club bowed and filed off stage.

The MC of the event approached, nodding to Shiho.

“Suzui-san? Do you have the results?”

“Hm? Oh. Here.” Shiho mumbled, handing over the tablet.

The MC looked at the tablet; his eyes widened. “Oh, cool. It’s changing even faster, now.” He walked out onto the stage.

“And now for our penultimate performance here at the Shujin Cultural Festival’s Post-Festival Party, the Volleyball Team, with Sleeping Beauty! And now, what you’ve all been waiting for, the announcement of the two surprise leads! Could this be the moment that a star is born?!”

“Oh. Exciting.”

Shiho looked up to see Kurosawa, already dressed in a black vest, pants, and white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A skinny black tie completed the simple, but classy vintage look. He smiled at Shiho. After freezing up for a moment, she averted her eyes, looking out at the MC.

“I… I guess.”

“Last I checked, I was in first place, wasn’t I? That’s a bit embarrassing.” Kurosawa said. “A little inconvenient, too. We’re on right after you guys, after all.”

“Y-yeah. I’m sure people would understand if--”

“It wouldn’t be inconvenient if it was _you_ as the Princess, though.” He added, casually.

“Oh. Well…” Shiho mumbled. She kept her eyes focused on the MC.

“And the voting for the Princess closes… now! Ah hah! It’s a rather famous member of one of Shujin’s teams…”

Shiho’s mouth went instantly dry.

“The Adorable Demon Trainer… Kaname Takeda!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! _Who’s_ adorable, numbnuts?! I demand a recount!” Kaname’s protest in the crowd was shrill and drew some laughter (as well as people creating some respectful distance away from her).

“...what? Seriously?” Shiho mumbled.

“Are you that surprised?” Kurosawa asked. “She’s earned quite a few fans of her own by now. Hah. It’s funny how she doesn’t have any problem with the ‘demon’ part of that title.”

That was true. After Yuka Sakaki’s bullying and gossip had been dealt with, Kaname’s social isolation ended (and there was a healthy amount of fear/respect for the pint-sized training demon). That, coupled with her energetic behaviour during tournaments and generally cute appearance, had led to a sort of admiration for her. Also, ever since she started dating Kaoru, she had started acting a little more approachable and smiling more frequently, even though they weren't 'public' yet.

“I guess.”

“Apparently people thought she was pretty cute during the boxing team’s dunk tank.”

That was also true. Shiho had been out of sorts, but she certainly noticed Kaname’s blush and frantic yelling as she tried to prevent people from taking pictures of ‘her’ Kaoru.

Kaname shuffled reluctantly onto the stage, not helping her case by crossing her arms and pouting.

“And now, for the role of Prince Philip! Ryoichi Kurosawa!”

Cheers and applause.

Kurosawa sighed. “I’d better go. Later, Suzuki-san.”

He started to walk onto the stage. He came to an abrupt stop.

Shiho was hanging onto his wrist. She looked at her own hand in surprise.

“Suzui-san?”

She mumbled something, looking at the floor.

“I’m sorry?”

“...an’t.”

“Ant…?”

“I said _you can’t!_ ” Shiho yelled, looking up at Kurosawa. Her face was red, she glared at him. “You can’t go out there! I don’t want you to!”

Everything screeched you a halt backstage. People turned to stare at Shiho in shock. People knew, obviously, that Kurosawa was asking her out daily. But because of his reputation as a serial dater and Shiho’s reputation as the dedicated captain of Shujin’s volleyball team, no one thought much of it.

The silence was broken by a further announcement from the MC.

“Ah! I’m sorry everyone, I misread that. Just before voting closed, there was a sudden outpouring of donations and votes from several Shujin alumni! The role of Prince Philip goes to… Kaoru Iwai!”

Kaname’s second shrill protest (and brief happy smile) were drowned out by more cheers and applause. Apparently, the spectacle at the dunk tank was amusing enough that the student body was eager to see a sequel between the two.

“Haha! Make sure she gets to have her shinai!”

“Prince Kaoru-kun! Adorable! He’s already looking so embarrassed!”

Kurosawa seemed nonplussed, shrugging. He smiled at Shiho. “Looks like it won’t be a problem.”

“I… I guess not.” Shiho said. She sighed, looking out at the stage as Kaoru and Kaname were ushered off to get into costume and the volleyball team started putting up the set. “Say. I…”

“Oi! Amane-chan! Why is this plastic singing fish out here?”

“Hm? I have no idea. That’s odd… heh. A singing plastic sea bass. That wasn’t on our list.”

But it was on Makoto’s list. It started mechanically rocking back and forth as someone pressed the button. Of all the things that Shiho thought she’d feel a deep sense of dread from, one of them was _not_ a plastic fish singing _Take Me to the River_. And yet, here she was. Rather than contemplate the decisions that got her to this moment, she instead decided to take action.

“Sea bass!”

“!! What?!” Kurosawa startled at the sudden yell.

Shiho looked up at Kurosawa. “It’s a trap! We need to get out of here!”

She dragged him by his wrist, bolting out of the auditorium. Kurosawa gamely followed along, an amused smile on his face.

“How are you so calm?!”

“It’s just fun!” He laughed.

“It isn’t!” Shiho said. “You have no idea what she’s capable of!”

They took refuge inside the volleyball club room. Shiho breathed heavily, her eyes still wild.

“Suzui-san, I do need to get backstage pretty soon.” Kurosawa said. “How about if I leave first—“

Shiho put a hand over his mouth, looking at the door. Sure enough, there was a sound of light footsteps. Someone stopped just outside. She remembered then, another item on the list - the Kryptonite bicycle lock. They could easily be locked in. And then there was the search query on Makoto’s browser history:

_‘How to fill a volleyball with something other than air’_

“The volleyballs are filled with sex lubricant!”

“...What?”

“The window. We’ll double back by going around outside!” Shiho opened the window, leaping off the windowsill - and landing perfectly in front of one Makoto Niijima.

Makoto looked at Shiho in surprise. “Oh! Shiho! Is everything alright? ...ah. And you must be Kurosawa-kun?”

Kurosawa waved, leaning on the windowsill. “Ryoichi Kurosawa. Good to meet you in person, Niijima-senpai. We haven’t spoken before, but everyone remembers you.”

“That’s kind of you to say.” Makoto smiled. “You’re the president of the jazz club, yes?”

“Ah, well actually, we lost our club status…”

Shiho stood there, her heart pounding as Makoto and Kurosawa just chatted away, as if escaping out the window was a perfectly normal thing to do. The volleyball captain’s mind raced as she tried to anticipate what Makoto was going to do next. The plastic bass. The Super Soaker. The 200 litre drum of lube. The sudden turnaround for the play. Just _happening_ to show up outside the window.

Was it all an elaborate plan?

Or was it just coincidence? Had Makoto really _done_ anything other than play some mind games?

Shiho started to relax. Elaborate revenge wasn’t really Makoto’s style. Her brunette friend was far too mature and far too busy. Maybe this was the real endgame, just turning Shiho’s own brilliantly troll-y mind against herself. Shiho smiled slightly. She chuckled a little at herself. Really. She should have known.

Makoto caught Shiho’s eye.

She smirked. Just _slightly_ . But that expression was so purely malicious, so amazingly Machiavellian that it doused Shiho’s flickering hope with cold fear. Vengeance was coming. And it would be a terrible vengeance. No one bought that much stuff and did that much research without _doing_ something with it.

“...oh, and I heard you keep asking Shiho out? Are you going to ask her today? I mean—“

“He already did!” Shiho yelled. There was one sure fire way to throw a monkey wrench into _whatever_ Makoto planned. Makoto couldn’t somehow manipulate her into a relationship with Kurosawa if she was already going out with him, her sleep-deprived and terrified mind reasoned. “I said yes! We’re going out! Right after the festival! Penguin Sniper in Kichijoji! There! You happy now?!”

“Hm? Oh. Well. That’s nice, then. I should get back. You two should as well, shouldn’t you?” Makoto shrugged, nonchalant.

“Right.” Shiho said, a triumphant smile on her face. She turned to Kurosawa. “Safe! Looks like I… ...wait. Did I just…”

“Mm. Let’s meet up after the post-festival party, Suzui-san.” Kurosawa beamed. He turned away from the window, exiting the volleyball club room through the door.

Shiho was left by herself, standing outside. She shook her head. A smile slowly spread across her lips.

“...Well, shit.”

>>>

Ryuji was rejoined by Makoto on the bleachers. He glanced down to the auditorium floor, where Shiho was seated with the volleyball club. The team captain looked dazed; even in the dim light it was pretty clear that her face was flushed.

“...Uh, what did you do exactly, Makoto?”

“Not much, really.” Makoto shrugged. “Shiho’s going out with Kurosawa-kun, though.”

“...How the hell did you manage _that_?!” Even the generally oblivious Ryuji had caught onto Shiho’s barely concealed pining and indecision about the musician.

“Well… One of the first things I realized after the Valentine’s Day incident was that no one’s better at mischief than Shiho Suzui. Anything I could think of, I was certain she would have thought of it already. And likely worse.”

“That’s true…” Ryuji said, thinking back to Shiho's reign of terror in middle school.

“So I just… used her brain against her.” Makoto shrugged.

Makoto outlined what she had done over the past several months. First, there was filling an Amazon shopping cart with the most random collection of bizarre items she could think of, purchasing them, and then canceling the orders a few days later. This had of course involved bribing Futaba into not providing Shiho with a list of her _canceled_ orders. And then, Makoto spent the next few weeks entering random search queries all centered on hilarious revenge ideas into her browser, suspecting that Shiho would ask the computer gremlin to look that up, too.

“Naturally, I assumed Shiho’s imagination would take all these items and search queries and come up with something far more awful and embarrassing than I could ever dream up.” Makoto chuckled.

Ryuji frowned. “What I don’t get is that Kurosawa didn’t come into the picture until like a month ago. But you started all of this in February?”

Makoto shrugged. “I had no idea he’d come into the equation. But I thought that if something happened this year, I’d be pretty busy with university. So I figured I should lay in the groundwork, just in case. When Kurosawa did show up, all I had to do was start playing some mind games to provoke Shiho into asking Futaba for the information…”

Those mind games included of course the text messages and countdown. But it also involved telling Shiho she wouldn’t be attending the festival, knowing full well that Ryuji would be far too happy about Makoto attending to _not_ eventually tell Shiho. Not to mention the vague, thinly-veiled hints and threats every time they saw each other.

“And what about the play?”

“Hm… That was convenient. It really did make her consider who Kurosawa is to her... But really, I didn’t do anything other than make sure that Kurosawa _wasn’t_ picked.” Makoto shrugged. She smiled. “I wanted to mess with Shiho a little. Not humiliate her in front of the school or force her to watch Kurosawa up there with someone else. So when I saw that Kaname took the role of the Princess, I had my contacts vote for Kaoru.”

“...And why did she scream ‘sea bass’ and run off?” Ryuji asked.

Makoto shrugged.

“Purely coincidence. There was a plastic fish on the list of random items, but _that_ particular sea bass has been around the student council office for years. I have no idea how it ended up on stage. The list was more effective than I imagined in provoking her… I actually followed her because I thought I might have actually made her have a real nervous breakdown. When I caught up to her, she panicked and asked Kurosawa out. I considered the possibility that I might push her to the point of doing that, but didn’t think it would actually happen.” Makoto smiled wryly. “You might say that instead of a red herring, Shiho fell for a black bass.”

“Hah.” Ryuji grinned. He shook his head. “So you bribed Futaba _months_ ahead of time just in case, and it took you less than a month of mind games to make Shiho snap and ask a guy out?”

“Something like that. Why are you staring at me like that?”

“My girlfriend’s a criminal mastermind and I love it. A little scared, too."

Makoto smiled at Ryuji. Again making sure no one was looking, she kissed his cheek. “How did it work out, anyway? Kaoru and Kaname?”

“Ah, well. Kaoru leaned in to wake up Sleeping Beauty, and then Kaname socked him in the ribs with a right hook. Then he fell on her, which just made her flail _more_ …”

“Oh. I’ll have to apologize…” Makoto frowned. “Ah. They’re starting.”

The MC took the stage. “And now, Shujin! We have our final performance of the evening!”

>>>

On the dimly lit stage, Ren sat in front of the piano. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. In the darkness, he could barely make out Kurosawa, standing nearby with his trumpet. He nodded at Ren as they waited for the cue.

 _‘Would have been nice to see Songbird before we got set up. Wonder what they’re planning?’_ Ren thought, feeling a little nervous. He never performed with actual musicians before, though he supposed there wasn’t much to worry about. Kurosawa had come up with brilliant arrangements that mostly covered his and Ann’s deficiencies, and they really managed to tie things together in the end. They sounded good.

“Just as we practiced, guys.” Kurosawa said, just loud enough for the four of them to hear.

Akane’s drumsticks tapped out the tempo and cued their start; the thrum of Shouta’s bass resonated into the darkness, perfectly in time with Akane’s drumbeat. Kurosawa’s trumpet joined them in short, clean bursts, Ren’s cue to take a breath. His hands rested on the cool white keys; he started to sing, his voice low and seductive.

 _I love Paris in the springtime_ _  
__I love Paris in the fall_ _  
__I love Paris in the winter, when it drizzles_ _  
__I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles_

His first chord on the piano was timed perfectly with the stage lights coming to life, revealing the jazz ensemble wearing matching vintage outfits in blacks, whites, and charcoal greys.

Ren wore the same outfit from the talent show in the summer. The vintage suit, skinny tie, and attitude matched the song perfectly. Kurosawa still sported his vest and tie, wrinkled just _enough_ after his frenetic run alongside Shiho. Akane flashed a winning grin at the crowd, wearing suspenders and bowtie as she gave her sticks a twirl. Shouta, the strong, silent sort, managed to stand out in just a black turtleneck and dress pants as he dutifully played his bass.

Ren concentrated on the piano as Ryoichi took over the vocals, his smooth voice a wonderful contrast to Ren’s rougher tone. Ren couldn’t help his little smirk at the shrieks and cheers as the audience realized it was a duet between him and Kurosawa. It had been Ann’s idea - her thought was that a duet between two of the ‘Three Princes of Shujin’ would likely bring the roof down.

They finished up the song to raucous applause. 

Kurosawa stepped up to his microphone, grinning in exhilaration. “Thank you! We are the Kurosawa Jazz Quintet!”

There was a murmur for two reasons. First, Kurosawa had introduced them without any club or class association, a reminder to everyone watching that the talented musicians they were listening to weren’t getting any official support from the school. And second, there were only four people on stage.

“That was _I Love Paris_. Now, please. A warm round of applause for our final member, Ms. Ann Takamaki…”

Ren smiled slightly. He knew what song was next… They had rehearsed hundreds of times, after all. But the rest of the group had clearly planned something separately from Ren. The lights dimmed again; a single spotlight highlighted Ann’s pale hand and wrist, gracefully reaching out from backstage and starting to snap in a slow, measured tempo. She was joined by Akane and Shouta, the thrumming bass and drumbeat both felt _and_ heard.

 _Never know how much I love you_ _  
__Never know how much I care…_

Ren’s jaw went slack as Ann _glided_ onto stage, holding a wireless microphone. Her long blonde hair tumbled down her back; her makeup was similar to the show at Fashion Week, wherein it didn’t so much age her as it made her age _less_. Her red dress, equal parts flowing and slinky, was a striking slash of scarlet in the band’s monochromatic color scheme.

It was like someone pulled the ideal image of a torch singer out of the past.

He nearly missed his cue, even though it was a good forty seconds into the song. The audience tittered lightly, charmed at the boxer’s reaction to his girlfriend.

Ann winked at him, striding by to the front of the stage as she sang, making both male and female students’ hearts pound and faces flush as she cast a little smirk into the crowd.

Kurosawa caught Ren’s eye, grinning.

Ren shook his head, understanding immediately. They had wanted his sincere surprise and reaction as part of the show. _‘Damn, Kurosawa. You wanted to make an impression… Mission accomplished.’_

He nearly missed a note as Ann moved back to the piano. She circled him like a hunting panther, running a hand lightly over his shoulders until she casually invaded his space, sitting back to back with him on the piano bench as she turned to face the audience. She leaned against him, making him _feel_ her sing. She moved; her voice seemed to purr right into his ear as she continued the smooth and sultry song that perfectly described how he was feeling at the moment. As he turned to look over his shoulder at her, she spun away from him adroitly. When he reflexively turned his head to follow her, he really did miss a note.

All he could see was _her._ She took hold of his tie, pulling him close as the song drew to an end, her face only inches from hers. Almost close enough to kiss.

 _What a lovely way to burn_ _  
__What a lovely way to burn…_

>>>

“Damn, Songbird.” Ren said, shaking his head. “You could have warned me.”

“It was more fun that way.” Ann giggled. “The look on your face was priceless.”

She sat on a bar stool at _Penguin Sniper_ in Kichijoji, watching Ren start his turn at the dart board. Shiho had suddenly invited the entire Phantom Thieves family, plus Kurosawa’s band, on a group outing after the show. It was the last thing that Ren _or_ Ann wanted to do. After seeing Ann in that dress and hearing her sing that song, it was all Ren could do to not drag her to some secluded corner in the school to show his appreciation. Moreover, they had an empty apartment in Hiroo with their name on it - but the pleading look on Shiho’s face had been clear for both of them to see.

Ann watched in fascination, wondering if Ren’s inability to play ball and disc sports applied to darts. She breathed a sigh of relief as he struck bullseye.

“What’s with the sigh?”

“I was a little worried when I saw that ‘banned for life from billiards’ poster of you behind the counter, Wildcard.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “Honestly, you break _one_ window… Fortunately, my luck at billiards doesn’t apply to darts.”

“Not sure it’s just luck, Wildcard.” Ann laughed. She glanced over at the felted green table where Shiho, Kurosawa, Akane, and Shouta were playing. “Heh. Looks like someone else isn’t great at shooting pool.”

Shiho and Ryoichi were on a team - apparently, Kurosawa wasn’t great at the game. Shiho, ever competitive, was shaking her head and pointing at the table. Kurosawa blinked, looking at Shiho in confusion as he slowly aimed his shot. He hesitated; Shiho rolled her eyes, putting down her cue. She took up position behind Ryoichi, placing her hands over his in the classic ‘couple shooting pool together’ pose, with roles reversed. Kurosawa startled at the surprisingly intimate almost-embrace.

Shiho was utterly focused on the shot, though, continuing to instruct him.

Ryoichi just smiled slightly, obediently following Shiho’s motion - and sinking the ball.

“You know, I would have thought you’d be giving Kurosawa a harder time about this.” Ren said.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s dating your best friend, isn’t he? Don’t you have to give him the shovel talk?”

“Already done.” Ann said, shrugging. She smiled at Ren’s surprise. “It was actually at our first rehearsal, when you were talking to Lala-chan…”

>>>

“Ne, Miyaya. What do you think about this one?”

“Tried it last week. The pants are too tight, remember?”

“Or not tight enough.” Akane grinned, drumming a rimshot.

“Not helping. And drumming your own rimshot after a joke is unfair.”

Ann snickered from her seat at the bar in Crossroads; the five of them were taking a break from rehearsing. She was joined by Ryoichi, who sipped his glass of water. She nodded to him. “Nice work, Kurosawa-kun.”

“You too, Takamaki-san. It’s hard to believe you and Amamiya haven’t had that much actual training. I think this is going to go better than I thought…” Kurosawa said. “I have some exciting ideas for arrangements. I’ll make some adjustments when I get home… You’re staring.”

Ann eyed Kurosawa critically, from head to toe. It was nearly a hard stare. Completely unlike the looks Kurosawa usually got from girls.

“I am.”

“...Why?”

“You’ll need to answer this question carefully, Kurosawa-kun. My _and_ Ren’s participation in your jazz band depend on it.” Ann said, seriously.

“Hm…?”

Ann crossed her arms, somehow staring Kurosawa down despite the fact that they were both seated at the bar. “What are your intentions with Shiho? Did you ask her out just to mess with her? And are you _really_ going to just keep asking her every day?”

Kurosawa blinked, surprised. He then just smiled a little at Ann. “You two are really close, aren’t you?”

“Basically sisters.” Ann said, simply. “So?”

“I’m not just messing with her, Takamaki-san. I honestly like her. She’s interesting…” Kurosawa said, still with a little half-smile as he studied the bottles lined on the shelf behind the bar. “I don’t mind if she rejects me every day. I’m happy to keep liking her.”

Ann frowned. “...You’re not one of those guys who thinks she’s some broken girl who needs to be ‘saved’, are you? She hates that, and so do I.”

Kurosawa shook his head. “No. If anything… She saved _me_.”

>>>

“Really? He said that?” Ren watched as Ann nailed a bullseye. “What did he mean?”

Ann shook her head. “I left it at that. It seemed really personal… And he was sincere, as far as I could tell. He really does like Shiho. And even if Shiho won’t admit it, she seems to like him, too.”

Ren collected the darts from Ann to close out the game. “I’m glad. She deserves some of her own happiness, I think…”

“Speaking of happiness.” Ann glanced at the time; she got off her chair, touching Ren’s elbow, giving him a little grin that left no ambiguity as to what Ann was thinking. “Wanna get out of here?”

“What about Shiho?”

Ann looked over her shoulder, sharing a moment of unspoken communication with her bestie. “Looks like she’s fine, actually. I’ll give her a call later.”

Ren dropped the darts on the table. “ _Much_ later.”

Ann raised her eyebrow. “You’re not going to finish the round? Such a waste--”

Ren snatched the darts again - three quick throws and three trilling tones from the DARTS LIVE board declared ‘Three in the Black’ and a score of 0. He then took hold of Ann’s hand. Ann giggled, waving at Shiho as Ren quickly checked the train schedule on his phone while practically dragging the blonde out of the darts and billiards joint.

>>>

Late in the evening, Shiho and Ryoichi walked through Kichijoji. During the billiards and darts game, Shiho was lively and competitive, even after Ren and Ann left. But gradually, the rest of their friends called it a night.

“Good luck. Text us later?” Makoto had whispered, with a grin that was distinctly Shiho-like.

Shiho shook her head as they passed by the district’s Buddhist temple. She still couldn’t believe how Makoto had orchestrated the whole thing. The university student laid out the fiendishly simple plan for Shiho over a darts game. In hindsight, she was a little disappointed that there wasn’t actually a two-hundred litre drum of lube involved in this somehow.

They came to a stop beside a koi pond, visible from the street in front of the temple grounds. They hadn’t said a word since leaving _Penguin Sniper_ and continued their comfortable silence as they leaned on the rail, looking at the fish.

Ryoichi spoke first, looking across at Shiho with those gentle eyes of his, the color of coffee. “Today was fun, Suzui-san.”

“Definitely. You really… I mean, you _all_ looked and sounded great up there.” Shiho replied. “Did it work? Do you think you’ll be able to get your club back?”

“Too early to say.” Ryoichi sighed. “Some of the reporters there were asking us questions. And our former advisor is optimistic. Really, even if we don’t get club status back, it’d be nice to at least get some recognition from a few university music programs.”

“Are all of you going for that?” Shiho asked.

Ryoichi shook his head. “Just me. Shouta’s going to work in his dad’s music shop. Akane’s shooting for nursing. In a way, it’s a little sad. We’ll all still get together and jam… But the festival was probably the last big one.”

Shiho thought back to how she felt at the end of the volleyball season. While she was still spending time with the club, there wouldn’t be any more games or tournaments. Even if she was going to play in university… even if she was going to keep in touch, it was still over.

“I know what you mean.”

Ryoichi smiled wistfully. “I thought you might. Anyway… I’m glad you’re a little more relaxed, now. Today really was fun, but I was starting to get worried about you.”

Shiho rubbed her face, chuckling. “Mako-chan’s a formidable foe…”

“And a good friend. She told me she knows where I live.” Ryoichi laughed. “And that she knows how to use a _tonfa_ pretty well…”

“She does.” Shiho said, simply.

“Heh…” Ryoichi sighed, leaning on his elbows. He looked over at Shiho. “...Hey. You know, I wasn’t really going to hold you to this. Sakamoto told me. The Valentine’s Day incident or something? He wouldn’t tell me the details, but he mentioned that Niijima-senpai pretty much manipulated you into saying you’d go out with me.”

Shiho looked at the water thoughtfully. “So that means you’ll ask me again tomorrow?”

“Probably.” Ryoichi grinned. “I don’t mind.”

“...You’re so weird.”

“Mm. I know.”

They stood in silence for long enough that curious koi fish surfaced, peering up at the pair hopefully from the confines of the pond.

“...Ne, Ryoichi.” Shiho said, without looking up.

The musician blinked, surprised at the sudden use of his given name.

“It’s a little past midnight.” Shiho said. “So… It’s tomorrow.”

“...What… ...Ah.” He turned to face her. “Shiho… Will you go out with me?”

She just stared quietly at the koi fish below. A little smile crossed her lips.

“Sure.”

Ryoichi smiled as Shiho turned to face him. She looked at the cobblestone road as she took a step towards him; a warm blush blossomed across her cheeks - particularly when she looked up at him. Her eyes started to close. Instinctively, so did his. He leaned in--

“Ah!” Ryoichi winced as he received a sharp flick to his forehead, right between his eyes.

“Bleeeeeh.” Shiho stuck out her tongue at Ryoichi. “Cocky much? Think a little smile and sparkly eyes are going to get you a kiss from Captain Suzui?”

Ryoichi grinned, rubbing his forehead. “We _are_ going out, though?”

“Pro~bably.” Shiho winked. “Text me later, Ryo-chan.”

Shiho nearly skipped away, leaving a bemused Ryoichi Kurosawa in her wake. When she rounded the corner, she paused, leaning against the wall while clutching the fabric of her sweater. Her heart was pounding.

_‘That smile of his… Holy.’_

>>>

November 5, 2017 

Even on a Sunday, there was activity at Arima Senior High School in Kyoto. Despite the fact that it was nearly November, temperatures were still around twenty degrees Celsius. Several sporting clubs took advantage of this, running part (or all) of their Sunday practices outside - including the boxing team.

A group of students staggered into the school’s boxing gym, panting. They were greeted by the sound of gloved fists thudding into a heavy bag.

One of the students, a first-year, shook his head in wonder as he stood with his hands on his knees after the hard roadwork.

“Hah… hah… Incredible… Miyazawa-senpai outpaced all of us and he’s already on the heavy bag. Coach Kubo… How long has he been at it?”

The team’s head trainer, Yutaka Kubo, chuckled. “This is already his second round. Hayato-kun’s been fired up ever since he read that article--”

A flurry of jabs struck the heavy bag, a staccato rhythm faster than it should have been for the length of the welterweight’s arms. It was followed by a right straight that made the bag jump, timed to the buzzer announcing the end of the round.

Hayato Miyazawa, steadied the bag with his hand before pulling his bag gloves off. A red bandanna kept his dark hair out of his gunmetal blue eyes. “You don’t need to tell them unnecessary things, Coach.”

“Heh. Sorry.” Kubo tossed Hayato a bottle of water. “Drink up. Mitts after a five minute break.”

Hayato nodded gratefully, drinking. He glanced at the copy of this month’s _Boxing Fan_ sitting on the shelf nearby.

_‘Winter Cup Preview - The Pride of Shujin Boxing_

_...as for his plans for the future, the captain of Shujin Academy mentioned that in the past, he aimed at a career in pro boxing. But, Amamiya’s maturity shows not only in his technique, but in his respect towards the sport. He clearly understands the dangers of the pro ring._

_Amamiya: I’m not the guy I used to be. I can’t talk about the pro ring so casually. For now, I plan to focus on the Winter Cup and university entrance exams._

_So for now, boxing fans will have to be satisfied with that. What comes next for this promising fighter? Collegiate boxing? The pro ring? We’ll have to wait until after the Winter Cup to find out.’_

Hayato’s hand crunched the empty water bottle flat. He shoved his hand back in the glove after tossing the water bottle.

“You ready, Coach?”

“It’s only been three minutes--”

“I’m fine! Let’s go!”

As he squared his shoulders and started drilling punches into the mitts, his body hitting the targets with an exacting precision borne from years of practice. It wasn't anything special to Hayato. It was simply expected, for one of Shinji Takeda's 'sons'. As he struck his combinations, he narrowed his eyes and allowed memory to serve as fuel to the fire.

_‘This just means that even if you’re moving away… We’ll meet again.’_

_‘Yeah, Ren-chan! In the pro ring, for sure! It’s a promise!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Shiho's wake up alarm is OP1 from Haikyuu! 
> 
> 'Birdland' is actually a famous New York jazz club. The original's gone, but it still exists in a new form today. Great place, awesome vibe.
> 
> Kuro/Black Coffee conversation. One of the things I love the most about both Chinese and Japanese cinema/media is the use of puns and homonyms. I'm not fluent in either language, but can at least pick up a few of the jokes. I think it's one of the frustrating things about writing fiction that takes place in Asia in English - I can't do these jokes nearly as well!
> 
> [For example (Fun starts at around 2:30)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRj4kFsl3Mo)
> 
> And also another Cantonese movie I remember watching years ago, wherein the owner of a brothel gets evicted. And then in the next scene, he's seen selling chickens and feather dusters by the roadside. If you know why that's hilarious, you are one of the initiated :)
> 
> 'Body' refers to the 'texture' of coffee. It comes from the oils etc in the coffee. For reference, if you use paper filters you'll get less of this. If you're using French press or percolator without paper filters, your coffee will tend to have more of this quality. Additionally, the terms 'hard' and 'rough' are legit also. For kicks, look up 'coffee flavor wheel' on the Google. Interesting stuff.
> 
> Plastic singing fish on a plaque - Google 'Billy Bass' if you really need to hear this. I don't recommend it. (In fairness, Billy Bass is not a sea bass.)
> 
> “The volleyballs are filled with sex lubricant!” - When I wrote this, I had a moment where I felt my creative writing teacher from my high school days would either be incredibly proud of me, or completely disappointed.
> 
> Trivia - Kurosawa was originally a bass player in the rough drafts/one shots I wrote last year. Changed to trumpet mostly because in the first meeting with Ann, I didn't want him toting around a massive instrument case, haha.
> 
> Minor retcon to bass player's name. Went from Shinji to Shouta because I already had a Shinji in this (Kaname's dad). More trivia - in the original one shots, Coach Takeda was always just Coach Takeda. No first name given.
> 
> Imagining Ann striding around on stage in a slinky red dress and singing that song while casually flirting with Ren haunts my dreams. If you're thinking of the scene in DS9 where Kira Nerys (or hologram thereof) is singing the song with Odo on the piano, that's exactly what I was trying to evoke.
> 
> Hayato is the same Hayato briefly mentioned in 'You Only Get One' from Ren's flashback.
> 
> Next major event is the Winter Cup and Ren's final fight as a high school boxer.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road to the Winter Cup continues.
> 
> Who is Hayato Miyazawa to Ren Amamiya?
> 
> Not much romance/fluff here. Mostly getting ready to tie up Ren's high school career.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gakuran - Tunic style uniform worn by boys. One of the iconic male uniform styles (the other being Western style tie/blazer)
> 
> Rock Paper Scissors Theory - In boxing, refers to the idea that styles had advantages/disadvantages against each other. Brawlers are effective against infighters/Infighters are effective against outboxers/Outboxers effective against brawlers.
> 
> Boxer-Puncher - Hybrid style. Hand speed of a pure outboxer, but better power. Tend to be a little less technical/mobile than outboxers, though.
> 
> Obaasan - lit. grandmother, but also respectful way to refer to elderly lady who you don't know the name of
> 
> Baasan - More casual way of saying grandmother
> 
> Hokkaido - Northernmost of Japan's main islands
> 
> Night bus - Cheaper way of getting from Tokyo to Kyoto. The bullet train's expensive, man. 13000 yen/~120 USD ONE way.
> 
> 'Heart' - Nebulous definition. At its simplest, a boxer with a lot of heart is willing to give up a lot to win. It's the ability to not take 'no' for an answer, the ability to stand up when all reason says you should stay down. The will to survive/win.

November 6, 2017

The Nishinari district in Osaka was famous - or rather,  _ infamous _ . It was as close to lawless anarchy as one could find in modern-day Japan. To begin with, the district was the location of over twenty riots from the 1960’s onward. A thieves’ market ran daily amidst the alleys; the smell of burning tires, stale alcohol, and cheap cigarettes assaulted the nostrils of anyone who stepped into the area. Vehicles were largely cheap or run down with the exception of the shiny black and white Mercedes and BMWs that were owned by the local  _ yakuza _ .

The neighborhoods were populated by the largest concentration of unemployed and homeless men in the country; there were virtually no women or children residing in the area.

One particular neighborhood was the worst; the cheapest. A place where people went to be forgotten. A place for people who truly had no legacy, no connections, no family.

And so, the sight of a lone high school student clad in his  _ gakuran _ with a gym bag over his shoulder drew raised eyebrows, hopeful looks for a handout, and in some cases, predatory glares - until they saw the boy’s face in the dim streetlights.

Hayato Miyazawa was known in this area. Known well enough to be considered ‘one of them’, in any case. The boy went to high school in Kyoto and stayed in a dormitory during the week, but returned to Osaka on weekends. A shopkeeper, sweeping the dirty sidewalk in front of his store, smiled sympathetically.

“Oi, Haya-kun. Checkin’ on him?”

“Yeah,  _ ojisan _ .” Hayato nodded, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He reacted quickly, snatching a small package out of the air from the shopkeeper.

“Here. He didn’t come by today to pick up his dinner.”

“Thanks. D’you mind droppin’ these off for the next few days if he doesn’t come out? I’m not gonna be around. Here, lemme--”

“Not takin’ your money, kiddo. You already paid, and he lives on my way to the shop anyway. Good luck in the prelims, eh?”

Hayato nodded again, continuing down the street. He entered a small complex composed of studio and one-bedroom apartment complexes. He walked up the cracked concrete stairs, mindful to not run his hand on rusty, rough rail on the way up to the third floor. He stopped in front of a studio apartment, raising his hand to knock - before noticing the door was ajar anyway.

“Tch…” He pushed the door open, looking at the form slumped over on the table, lit only by the flickering light of an old CRT television. “Oyaji. You awake?”

Silence.

Hayato walked in, knocking over an empty beer can. He didn’t bother taking off his shoes; it wasn’t any cleaner inside than it was outside the apartment. He paused beside the table, looking down at his father.

“...You alive?”

The man mumbled. No movement, though. His eyelids didn’t even flicker. Hayato didn’t even have it in him to be relieved, anymore. Instead, he moved methodically, emptying the ashtray and collecting the week’s worth of empty beer cans and empty takeout containers. There was no frustration in his work. Simply resignation. Something that had to be done. He carried the bags to the door. Usually, he’d leave without another word.

Today, he paused.

“...I won’t be around this week. I gotta make a trip into Tokyo, and then I’ve got prelims. I’ll get someone to check in on you.”

No response.

At least Hayato didn’t have it in him anymore to be disappointed either.

>>>

November 11, 2017

“Alright! So that’s all the local prelim matches that happened this week.” Kaname turned the lights back on in the video review room at Coach Shinoda’s gym. In preparation for the last tournament of the year, the team started holding their Saturday practices off-site at Shinoda’s to take advantage of the veteran trainer’s equipment and advice.

Today, the team cut their usual practice short to break down every Winter Cup preliminary match that happened over the week. Every fighter who wanted to participate in the preliminary matches could do so, but for anyone who didn’t finish well in the Nationals, it would be an uphill battle. Qualification and subsequent seeding for the Winter Cup tournament was a function of each fighter’s individual record over the season, with extra weight given to the Inter-High and National tournaments.

As winners of their respective divisions at Nationals, Ren and Kaoru were already guaranteed spots in the final tournament of the season. They each had to fight only two preliminary matches to determine where they would be seeded in the tournament, slated to begin on December 16th. Eiji and Shou were in ‘win and in’ situations, but already looked good after earning strong decision victories during the week.

One of the beginners who opted into prelims sighed, shaking his head. “Man. I looked  _ awful _ . Maybe it was a mistake to sign up for prelims after all.”

Kaname shook her head. An outsider would have been surprised at the lack of tongue-lashing. By now, Shujin knew that the Demon Trainer was actually quite judicious and skilled in determining when one of her fighters needed a pat on the shoulder versus a shinai in the ass.

“You were up against a veteran who used a style you didn’t match up well against, Ichinose.” Kaname said. “You made it to the third round and learned something. That’s valuable. But remember your frustration. It’ll motivate you.”

Another beginner frowned; she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Style? But you haven’t taught any of the beginners a specific style. Other than Iwai-kun.”

“That’s true.” Kaname said. “I’ve been trying to get all of you to stick to the basics for the most part. It’s just that Iwai’s physical build and natural tendencies pushed him to specialize sooner than the rest of you. But it was inevitable that you’d each start to favor certain things even without me saying anything. ‘Styles’ are just tendencies that keep repeating themselves for various reasons.”

Eiji grinned. “Yeah. Like how Shou’s an outboxer because he’s too chicken to trade blows.”

“And how Eiji’s got a hammer of a right straight because his left sucks balls.” Shou replied, as the two started shoving at each other playfully in their seats.

“I wouldn’t focus too much on style anyway, especially if you’re just starting out.” Kaname said. “The ‘rock paper scissors’ theory of boxing is really more a guideline. Not every outboxer is going to turn into an infighter’s sandbag, and not every brawler is going to get picked apart by an outboxer.”

“That’s right.” Ren said. “Really what it boils down to is recognizing your own preferences and tendencies, and having strategies to deal with the shortcomings associated with them.”

“Right. Like what Kobayashi was trying out at Nationals” Kaoru said. “And what you did against me in sparring. But isn’t that just giving up on your own strengths? Ah… don’t get me wrong, senpai. Your infighting was amazing, but isn’t your ideal range further away?”

“That’s a fair point.” Kaname said. “But the idea isn’t to convert your style. It’s more to have some tools in order to negate the disadvantages long enough so that you can box the way you want to. During your spar against Renpai, he wasn’t aiming to knock you out or score points from in tight.”

“That’s right. I was aiming for the check hook to create space and the right cross from  _ my _ distance the entire time, Kaoru.” Ren said. “My goal was to frustrate you into boxing the way I wanted to box.”

“That’s why for training leading up to the Winter Cup, we’re not going to waste time in trying to make ‘anti strategies’ for every possible opponent.” Kaname said. “It isn’t like pro boxing where you know who your opponent is weeks in advance. The best use of our time is to fortify your strengths and take care of any glaring weaknesses. I’ve got your individual training programs here.”

Kaoru frowned, biting his lower lip. He remained silent as Kaname handed out printed pages to each of them. He jumped as Ren put his hand on his shoulder.

“Kana-chan. Kaoru wants to say something.” Ren said, smiling slightly as he recognized his junior’s reluctance to contradict his trainer.

“Senpai?! Er… Well… Isn’t there a good chance I’ll have to face Kobayashi? Shouldn’t I come up with some strategies for him at least?” Kaoru said, hesitantly. During the review session, they watched one of Kobayashi’s prelim matches - he was up against another outboxer, but it didn’t turn into a battle of agility and footspeed. Rather, the bleached-blonde second year seemed to be effectively controlling range and position, dictating the pace of the fight perfectly. It looked like he was going to be effective against both infighters and outboxers.

“There’s no guarantee that you’ll run into Kobayashi at the tournament, Iwai. It’s not a good use of our time. I want you to keep working on your step-in speed and leg strength. That will help you against  _ any  _ potential opponent.” Kaname said. She paused, looking at Kaoru closely. She was getting to know him better and better - not only as his trainer, but also his girlfriend. He was the type of fighter who would listen to his coach, but he did even better if he could experience first-hand the reasoning behind his training. She sighed. “Get your gloves on, Iwai. Renpai, you too. Why don’t we show you what Kobayashi’s likely going to do?”

Kaoru nodded eagerly, happy to spar against Ren again. The team exited the video room, going to the ring set up in the middle of the repurposed warehouse. The first-year watched curiously as Kaname gestured at Ren, seemingly giving Shujin’s captain some instructions.

Ren nodded. “...Yeah. I think so too, Kana-chan. That’s probably what he’d do.”

“Senpai?” Kaoru said, from the opposite corner.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ren smiled. He touched gloves with Kaoru before waiting in his own corner. Kaname rang the bell.

Kaoru watched as Ren approached, taking an orthodox stance. He didn’t approach any further though - the older boxer just circled and waited. It looked somewhat similar to what Kobayashi did in his preliminary match. There was something more ominous about it, though. Ren’s fighting spirit and pressure could be overwhelming, but this was different. It was like the third-year was lying in wait.

_ ‘...He’s trying to teach me. Might as well jump in, then!’ _

Kaoru raised his guard; he launched himself forward.

The rest of the team shouted in surprise as the distance between the two seemed to shrink almost instantaneously.

Shou shivered. “Tch… All the newbies think it’s impressive. Being on the receiving end of that step in sucks.”

Eiji nodded. “I don’t mind mixing it up as much as you do, Shou. But even then, Kao-kun gets too close for comfort for me.”

Kaoru anticipated the fending jab from Ren perfectly, weaving to the inside. He had a clear path to Ren’s chest and body, where he could begin the process of backing him off with hard, compact blows. Or if Ren tried to turn it into a wrestling match, Kaoru was now ready to throw him off with a quick almost-leap off his feet and a hard uppercut.

Ren wasn’t intimidated, though. His childhood years of sparring with Kaname and working with her father left him well-prepared for the Takeda style of pressure fighting. With a few more jabs and good footwork, he found his distance again. Kaoru doggedly pursued him, quickly angling Ren off and shifting his weight back and forth as he parried, bobbed and weaved to deal with jabs. Gradually, he got used to the distance and parries became unnecessary.

“Heh. Looks like Kao-kun can catch aniki already…” Eiji said.

Kaname just shook her head. “Wait until you can see them both in profile, Aikawa.”

From Kaoru’s point of view, things were looking good. He shot in as Ren pulled a jab back. He had a good sense of the distance now. Also, Kaoru had expertly angled Ren into a corner. There was no longer anywhere to run. Now, he’d follow the jab back, crowd and trap his senpai, and bury him into the ringpost with compact blows to the body until Ren was forced to drop his guard.

Kaoru was sent staggering by an abrupt impact to his face - a sharp jab, far faster than should have been possible. And then another - and another. Kaoru raised his guard; his approach was stymied as jabs pummeled him over his guard. Another left shot out and abruptly changed angles, turning into a left hook that went  _ around _ Kaoru’s guard and caught him in his temple. Their positions were reversed as Ren pivoted and stepped around Kaoru at the same time.

The welterweight danced back to the middle of the ring, not capitalizing on his advantage. After all, the purpose of the sparring match was education, not domination. Ren waited in orthodox again. Kaoru shook off the effects of the jabs and hook.

_ ‘What just happened? Senpai has a great jab, but there’s no way he’s that fast… And that hook came out of nowhere…’ _

Kaoru approached cautiously. It seemed like Ren was playing the role of a counter-puncher. Kaoru reasoned that if he moved in slower, he might be able to study what was happening.

Ren smiled slightly. As if reading Kaoru’s mind, he suddenly took the initiative. A flurry of jabs snapped out. Once again, much faster than possible. None of them really hurt and they didn’t have the same variable angles that Kaoru was used to seeing from Ren. But they were still odd despite the reduced power - the speed and range were throwing him off completely. The infighter tightened his guard, turning his peek-a-boo stance into a shield until he could figure things out.

Another left hook carved in around his guard and struck him cleanly, sending him staggering back.

“That’s enough! Renpai, hold still. Iwai. Take a look at him from the side.” Kaname said, gesturing.

Kaoru nodded. He took a step to the side, looking over Ren’s form. He stood in an orthodox stance with his right hand by his chin and his right foot back. His left hand however was unusual. Usually Ren started with his left hand floating between his chest and jaw, about one glove width away from his body. Right now, his left hand was extended two to three times further away than usual.

“You didn’t pull your left all the way back…” Kaoru said, shaking his head. “That’s how you were so fast with your second and third punches.”

Ren nodded, lowering his arms. “That’s right. I used the first few exchanges to get you used to a more normal rhythm and range, then suddenly changed. It’s really easy to see from the side what’s happening, but from your point of view…”

Kaoru furrowed his brow. “It’s different head-on. The pressure and stress are stifling enough to make it harder to notice. It just felt like your punches became faster, and my perception got screwed up. I had a harder time reading the range.”

“Kobayashi did this during the last round of his preliminary match. It wasn’t as obvious because he was against another outboxer, but against your typical infighter it’ll look something like this.” Ren said. “It suits him better than the rougher style of infighting he was showing us before he got hurt at the Nationals… Most likely, he’s thinking to contain and disrupt using an extended leading hand, and if someone gets past that, he’ll make distance by using the close-in tactics. How do you want to deal with it, Kaoru?”

Ren took the stance again.

Kaoru frowned, approaching. “I could maybe knock your arm out of the way…” He reached out, mimicking a left hook that struck Ren’s left hand out of the way. “...But that leaves me out of range.”

“And it leaves you wide open for a right cross counter.” Ren said, demonstrating. “Knocking away the leading hand isn’t a terrible idea, but your shorter height and reach don’t make it the best option. And just guarding and waiting for me to make a mistake doesn’t work either. If you’re behind on points, your opponent will just be happy to pound on your guard and stay back. If you’re tied or ahead, then you’ll deal with a left hook around your guard.”

“Why doesn’t everyone use an extended left?” Shou asked. “It seems like a good strategy.”

“There’s problems with it.” Ren said. “My hand can get knocked aside easily. And if Kaoru gets in tight fast enough, then my left body and head are wide open.”

Kaname nodded. “Which means, Iwai?”

“...That I should work on my step-in speed and leg strength.” Kaoru smiled, shaking his head. “Right.”

Ren grinned. “Pretty much.”

The two left the ring. Kaname caught up to Ren as he started packing up his gloves and handwraps.

“That was pretty nostalgic, Renpai.”

Ren nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t seen or used Haya-kun’s left in ages.”

Kaoru looked at Ren curiously. “Haya-kun?”

“Hayato Miyazawa.” Ren said. “A friend of mine when I was in middle school. We both trained out of Coach Takeda’s gym in Kamakura… If I’m a boxer-puncher leaning towards puncher, he’s a boxer-puncher leaning towards boxer. His jab was better than mine, and he loved using that extended left… gave me fits, actually. It was one of the reasons why I started using off-angle punches more often. He was amazing at controlling the ‘center lane’ with his left hand.”

“Is he still in Kamakura?” Kaoru asked, curiously. “I don’t think I met him at the training camp.”

Ren shook his head. “Nah. He moved away right after we finished middle school. We lost touch after that.”

Kaoru nodded. He glanced at his training schedule for the next few weeks before perking up. “Ah, Amamiya-senpai? Can we train together tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’ll be here in the morning. For the afternoon and evening, I’ll be busy.”

“You’re just training in the morning?” Kaoru asked, surprised.

“I have Kana-chan’s permission to be a bit lazy. It’s Ann’s birthday.” Ren smiled. “She’s pretty excited… I think she’s out shopping for a new outfit right now, actually.”

>>>

“Oh! Or maybe this one…” Ann gasped, taking a cute burgundy mini-dress off the rack at a boutique in Shibuya 109. “What do you think, Shiho?”

Shiho eyed the dress. Ren would certainly like the low-cut dress - while the boxer was better at playing it cool than Ryuji, it was still painfully obvious what he liked from how he looked at Ann when he  _ thought _ no one was watching. “I think the Champ will love it. But does it really matter?”

“What do you mean? Of course it matters.”

Shiho grinned. “I think if you wear that around him, you won’t be wearing it for long. What are the chances you guys even get out the door? Remember White Day?”

The blonde shot an embarrassed glare at her friend before shaking her head with a little smile. “Sometimes I really wonder why I tell you  _ everything _ , Shiho. We’ll be pretty safe this time. I’m meeting him at Coach Shinoda’s gym after he’s done morning training.”

“Well, there’s always the locker room…”

Ann rolled her eyes in response. She put the dress in her basket, already stuffed to capacity. “Speaking of telling each other everything… How are things with  _ your _ boyfriend?”

“Crap!...” Shiho nearly dropped the belt she was looking at. After recovering, she looked at Ann. “Not much to report. I’ve been really busy with entrance exam prep. Even with letters from Kawakami-sensei, Takemi-sensei,  _ and _ Hayakawa-sensei, the medical schools I’m going for all need pretty high exam scores for admission.”

“Ah. That’s too bad. How’s Kurosawa taking it?” Ann asked.

“He’s pretty busy too, so he understands. The Cultural Festival did exactly what he wanted. Shujin’s been pressured to give them club status again, but that means they need to actively recruit some first and second years. They’re all in third year, after all. And on top of that there’s his own exams… And because he’s gunning for a music program, he has to audition, too.” Shiho shrugged. “So even though we’re dat _ ing _ , we haven’t really dat _ ed _ .”

“That’s too bad.” Ann said. As the two walked over to the changing room to try clothes on, Ann sifted through the basket. “So he’s been practicing a lot?”

“Mmhm.”

“How’s he sounding?” Ann asked, casually.

“Really good! He really likes Chet Baker, so--...” Shiho clammed up, glaring accusingly at Ann.

Ann grinned. “Bus~ted. So no dates, but you’re listening to him practice? You know, studying together counts.”

“Oh, shut it.” Shiho muttered. “He’s a talented musician. It helps me concentrate.”

“Riiiiight.” Ann said.

Shiho sighed, smiling at her friend in surrender. “If studying together counts… Then things are going well. Anyway, Blondie. How the hell are you going to try all of that on?” Shiho pointed at the mountain of clothes in the basket.

“Oh, I’m not.” Ann found what she was looking for, taking out several outfits and handing them to Shiho. “You’re trying these ones on.”

“Seriously!?”

Ann winked, waving a royal blue sweater dress. “At  _ least _ this one, Shiho. It’s a great price, and it’ll go nicely with that belt you picked up.”

“I don’t need new clothes.” Shiho crossed her arms obstinately.

“Kurosawa’s favorite color is blue. He mentioned that during one of our rehearsals.”

“...” Shiho looked back and forth between the dress and Ann. Ann shook the hanger enticingly, grinning.

Shiho snatched it and the other outfits from Ann before disappearing into a booth, face as red as the dress Ann had picked out for herself. The blonde giggled, going into another booth to try on her own selection. The two girls left Shibuya 109 soon after, each of them carrying a shopping bag.

“So what’s the big plan for tomorrow?” Shiho asked.

“Mm… I’ll meet him at the gym, first. And then we’re going to the zoo in Edogawa!” Ann said, excitedly. “After that, Ren wants to take me to a restaurant in Little India--”

“H-hey! I’m tellin’ you, lady, I’m not interested!”

“Oh, but such a _handsome_ _young master_ like yourself must be tired after such a long trip.”

“How the hell did you know that?!”

“From your accent and your bag, silly. Now, why don’t  _ mew _ come in and have a coffee?”

“Are you a maid or a cat?! Make up yer friggin’ mind!”

Ann turned to look across the street, her interest piqued by the harsher and more melodic kansai accent of the male speaker. He was clearly a high school student from his gakuran style uniform, and carried a gym bag that appeared stuffed to capacity - so much that he had to tie his shoes to the bag’s shoulder strap. He was nearly as tall as Ren and had tied his black hair out of his face with a red bandana.

_ ‘Boxing shoes…’  _ Ann noted, quickly.

“We’d better help the guy out.” Shiho said, shaking her head as the boy tried to fend off  _ two _ maids outside the  _ Maid for Mew _ maid cafe.

Ann and Shiho walked across the street; they each took hold of an arm of the kansai-speaking boy, smiling politely at the catgirls/maids.

“Sorry, he’s late for boxing practice.” Ann said, nodding sincerely.

“Yep. Coach is a real bear, too.” Shiho added. The two girls dragged him off before the maids could protest.

“H-hey! Where the hell are you takin’ me, now?!”

“Keep moving!” Ann hissed. “They’re still looking!”

“--don’t turn around to check!” Shiho added. “Making eye contact was your first mistake!”

Eventually, they reached the Hachiko statue near the train station. The boy sighed, shaking his head. “Man… I haven’t been around here in years. Forgot how aggressive some of those places can be. How’d you know I was a boxer?”

“Not a problem.” Ann said, smiling. She glanced at the boy’s gym bag. “And it’s your shoes. Are you in town for preliminaries?”

He shook his head.

“Nah. I’m fightin’ in the prelims, but those get settled at the local level. My matches are in and around Kyoto. I’m in town to look up an old friend.” He glanced at a nearby digital billboard to check the time. “Not much hope of findin’ him tonight, though. My phone’s dead and I have no idea how to get to the place I’m stayin’.”

“Where do you need to go?” Ann asked.

“Near the Aoyama Itchome station.”

Shiho blinked. “Oh. Well, that’s easy. Just head into the station there, and take the Ginza line.”

“Oh! Great.” He smiled. “Thanks again.”

The three parted ways; Ann stepped onto the train to Hiroo. She took hold of a hand strap dangling down from the ceiling, taking her phone out to check on tomorrow’s weather. Ann grimaced as the train reached its first stop; people poured into the train. It wasn’t  _ quite _ rush hour, but she was now shoulder to shoulder with a number of salarymen. She did her best to find a spot in the train without stomping on someone’s foot.

She caught the reflection of a nearby office worker in her phone. He was studiously  _ not _ looking at her, but seemed strangely tense. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the motion of his right hand, heading towards the hem of her skirt.

_ ‘Seriously?’ _ Ann thought, rolling her eyes. She slapped at his hand and turned to him, starting to tell him off.

A blur of motion shot by her face, followed by the sound of a sharp snap of fingernail against skin. The man stumbled back, holding his forehead where he had been flicked. “Agh! What the hell was that for?!”

Hayato stood there, separated from Ann and the would-be groper by two people. He was holding onto another hand strap with his right hand; his left was stuffed into his pocket. “What the hell was what? You just yelped and stumbled back.”

Ann stared at Hayato - in particular, at his left arm. She was  _ positive _ that his hand shot by, between the heads of the two people between them and past her face, but it looked like the teen hadn’t moved a muscle.

“I’ll sue--” The salaryman hissed.

“For what? If I flicked you,  _ hypothetically _ , that woulda been because you were gonna  _ hypothetically _ lift up a girl’s skirt.” Hayato drawled, just loud enough to catch the attention of the people surrounding the salaryman. That shut him up for the remainder of the trip as he melted away from Ann and Hayato.

Ann stepped off the train, along with Hayato. She sighed. “I could have handled that, Miyazawa-san. But thanks.”

“No problem. It’s a good thing I was goin’ the same way as you… So if this is Aoyama, then I need to leave the station and…”

“...You’re actually in Hiroo.” Ann said, blinking. “You went the  _ opposite _ direction.”

“...Ah. Shit.” Hayato mumbled.

Ann smiled. “It’s fine. Just head up the escalator, and then head to platform B. There’s signs.”

“Thanks again, Takamaki-san.”

Ann nodded, watching him walk up the escalator. The speed of his left hand and his smooth stride seemed familiar. She supposed that most experienced boxers developed a certain economy of motion - when Eiji and Shou weren’t screwing around, even they showed it sometimes. But even so, Hayato was different.

_ ‘...Reminds me of Ren.’ _ Ann realized. She reached the top of the escalator. She looked up to see the boxer from Kyoto going  _ completely  _ the wrong way. Impressive, when there were only four platforms in the station. She darted forwards.

“Miyazawa-san! Hold on!”

>>>

Kaoru jogged through Ogikubo in the evening, just a little before supper. He was on his own tonight - his father was busy at  _ Untouchable _ , and Kaname was going to jump into a video call with her father and stepmother immediately after dinner. He panted lightly; it wasn’t a hard run tonight, just a short loop around Otaguro Park before picking up dinner. Kaoru smiled slightly at the thought. There was a time not too long ago where a five kilometre run wouldn’t have been ‘short’ to him.

Now, it was short enough that even Kaname wouldn’t fault him for sneaking in the extra roadwork. He wanted to run to clear his head a little. The sparring match against Ren was enlightening, but the first-year still felt a bit anxious. His chief rival - Kobayashi - was coming up with strategies specifically aimed at taking him down. Kaoru trusted both Ren and Kaname implicitly, but he still felt he should be doing something  _ more _ .

_ ‘I just have to stick with it…’ _ Kaoru thought, shaking his head as he neared the end of his run.  _ ‘If Kana-chan and Amamiya-senpai say that’s all I need to do, then it should be enough.’ _

Kaoru rounded a corner, headed for the supermarket close to the apartment he shared with his father.

He recoiled at a familiar face just outside the Seiyu supermarket. 

Kobayashi stood there in his casual clothes, apparently just finishing a phone call. There wasn’t a bandage over his ear anymore, and he sported new studs. Small ones, that would be challenging to grab and pull. He grimaced on seeing Kaoru, reflexively glancing over his shoulder. Kaoru smirked slightly as Kobayashi reached up to touch the ear that Kaname had torn his old earring out of.

Surprisingly, the first thing out of Kobayashi’s mouth wasn’t an insult.

“Iwai.”

Kaoru came to a stop, returning the curt greeting. “Kobayashi.”

“...Congrats on Nationals.” Kobayashi said. “Though, your opponent was garbage. You’re lucky I got hurt.”

Kaoru shrugged, unwilling to let the bleach-blonde boxer get under his skin. “If you’ll excuse me.” He headed for the door to the supermarket.

Kobayashi got in his way, looking oddly anxious. “Hold on.”

“...For?”

Kobayashi sneered. But again, the expression didn’t seem  _ quite _ so natural this time around. It was as if the second year was searching for words. “I bet that pint-sized trainer of yours showed you a video of my prelim match, huh? I’m cooking up something  _ nice _ for that clumsy shit you call boxing.”

“Whatever. Look. I just want to buy dinner and--”

The door slid open, revealing an elderly Japanese woman in a grey kimono. She walked with the help of a cane, and was shorter than Kaname. One of the store clerks was behind her, pushing a shopping cart filled with grocery bags. She peered up at Kaoru and Kobayashi with kindly eyes.

Kaoru immediately got out of the way; when Kobayashi hesitated, the Shujin boxer grabbed his rival’s elbow, hauling him out of the way.

“What are you doing, Kobayashi? Honestly.  _ Obaasan _ , do you live nearby? Can I help with your groceries?” Kaoru asked, politely.

Kobayashi seemed stricken. His eyes flitted to the elderly woman.

The woman smiled at Kaoru. “Oh, thank you, dear.” She turned to Kobayashi. “Why didn’t you tell me you have such a polite friend, Hiro-chan? You could learn a thing or two.”

Kaoru blinked. “...H-H-Hiro... _ chan _ …?” He peered at Kobayashi, amusement overcoming shock as he started to grin at the spiky-haired blonde. Now Kaoru understood. Kobayashi looked unnatural earlier because he was  _ stalling _ , hoping he could prevent his rival from running into his grandmother.

“S-shut up!” Kobayashi snapped. “Baasan, I don’t need  _ this guy _ to help me carry everything. Let’s just go--ouch!”

Kobayashi’s grandma smacked Kobayashi lightly in the shin with her cane. “Don’t be rude. Even you can’t carry all of this. Now, it’s almost dinnertime. Invite your friend over, Hiro-chan. If he’s going to help carry all of this, it’s the least we can do.”

Kobayashi grit his teeth. “ _ Fine _ . Want to come over for dinner, Iwai?”

The elderly lady raised her cane threateningly.

“Want to come over for dinner, Iwai- _ kun _ ?” Kobayashi said, clenching his fists.

>>>

In Hiroo, Ann sat with Hayato on a bench on platform B.

“So… You have a  _ terrible _ sense of direction.” Ann said, bluntly.

“Ugh. If you Tokyo people built your subways  _ properly _ I woulda been fine, y’know?!” Hayato groused. “You don’t have to sit here and wait with me.”

Ann rolled her eyes. She smirked slightly, affecting her bad kansai accent. “Haaah?! I kinda do, ya lout. All ya thick headed boxers’re the same, y’know? How the hell d’you get lost in a subway with just four platforms?!”

Hayato burst out laughing. “Seriously? ‘Lout’? Where did you get that accent from? Out of an old anime?”

“Inside joke.” Ann said, smiling reflexively as she thought of her conversation with Ren last year, just after he conned his way into getting bread from the co-op. “You said you go to school in Kyoto?”

“Yeah. Hometown’s Osaka, though.”

Ann nodded. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Really. It’s gettin’ dark. You should head on home, Takamaki-san.”

Ann shook her head. “I feel a little obligated. You stopped some gross guy from feeling me up on the train--”

“Ah, you don’t owe me anything--”

“--And I think if I don’t watch you get on the right train, you’re going to end up in Hokkaido.”

Hayato laughed. He grinned at Ann. “Yeah, fair. You said you’re in third year, like me? Shouldn’t you be studyin’ or somethin’?”

“Shouldn’t  _ you _ ?” Ann countered. “My boyfriend’s a boxer, too. He’s getting ready for the Winter Cup as well as exams. He barely has time to eat and sleep properly between training and studying. And here you are, after taking the  _ night bus _ to Tokyo.”

“I studied on the bus.” Hayato shrugged. “And I’m not shooting for university anyway, so I just need to pass my school’s internal exams.”

“Going pro?” Ann asked.

“All the way.” Hayato said, without hesitation.

Ann sighed. “...Still. I can’t believe you took a seven hour trip just to meet a friend.”

“...Yeah.” Hayato frowned.

Ann blinked. “You don’t seem incredibly happy about seeing him.”

“I’m not sure how I should feel.” Hayato said, shaking his head with a nostalgic smile. “We were close growin’ up… Heh. Even though he was an idiot who couldn’t do anything but box. Lots of good memories with that guy…”

His smile slowly evaporated. “But then he went and said some stupid shit recently that makes me want to knock his head off.”

“Really? Enough to make you take that long of a trip?”

Hayato nodded. “He went back on a promise we made before I had to move back to my hometown. We were both supposed to go pro together and meet up again either as gym mates or opponents. I mean… that’s fine. I’m not stupid. When we’re kids, we make all kinds of promises that we don’t keep. But I thought it was deeper than that, y’know? Even if he wasn’t going to keep the promise, I would’ve thought he’d value the memory of it.”

_ ‘I can’t talk about the pro ring so casually.’ _

“But like I said. He went and said some shit that bothers the hell out of me.” Hayato grimaced. “Not sure if he’s really a friend anymore, either. But ever since I found out what he said, it’s been on my mind. I feel like I can’t sit still until I see how he’s actually doin’.”

Ann glanced at Hayato sidelong.  _ ‘He’s a little like Ren… Whatever his friend said’s obviously affected him pretty deeply.’ _

The two looked up as a blast of chilly air and an announcement over the PA heralded the arrival of the correct train. Hayato stood up, bowing to Ann. 

“Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. Hope you find your friend, Miyazawa-san… You know, I don’t mean to meddle or pry. But it seems to me that even if you aren’t sure he’s a friend anymore, he’s still pretty important to you.”

“...Heh. Suppose you’re right. Have a nice night.”

>>>

Kaoru sat across from Kobayashi at the traditional Japanese-style table, drinking tea out of a ceramic cup. The blonde was glaring daggers across at him, while Kobayashi’s maternal grandmother - Ume Takanashi - smiled serenely. It was funny at first, particularly after hearing his rival’s nickname. But after the amusement faded, things just settled into awkward.

_ ‘This can’t get any more awkward. I should make some excuse to leave…’ _

“Hiro-chan? Can you go down to the corner store? I forgot to pick up something for dessert. Why don’t you get that ice cream I like?”

“Baasan, we’re both in training. We can’t eat that.” Kobayashi said, clearly thinking along the same wavelength as Kaoru.

Ume sighed loudly. “You’d deny your frail grandmother a little ice cream? I suppose that’s fine. I mean, all I did was cook dinner for  _ three _ , while making sure I follow your coach’s nutrition guidelines. I suppose I’ll just walk out to the store  _ again _ tomorrow--”

“I’ll go, I’ll go!” Kobayashi said, hurriedly. He shot Kaoru a look before leaving, one that said  _ ‘be gone before I get back!’ _

Kaoru glanced at Ume. He reached over, refilling her tea.  _ ‘Well. At least he isn’t here to glare at me. Makes it a little less awkward.’ _

“So, Iwai-kun… you fought Hiro-chan at the Inter-high tournament, didn’t you?” Ume asked, a curious little smile on her face as she made it  _ way _ more awkward.

Kaoru choked on his tea. “- _ cough cough- _ Uwah?! I uh…” He stumbled over his words, trying to think of the best way to say ‘yes ma’am, I’m the guy that tried to punch your grandson into oblivion.’

“Thank you, Iwai-kun.”

“...Excuse me?”

“I’ve watched Hiro-chan box from the beginning, you know? His parents divorced, and his mother works abroad. So it’s really only been me for the past several years.” Ume said, sipping her tea. “He started boxing because it was something to do, and it came easy to him. He never really had to try. He’d win fights and tournaments and then let the trophies collect dust in a box. He didn’t care too much about it… He spent more time getting into trouble and spending time around the wrong crowd. But something was different after your fight.”

“Really? Did he display the Inter-high trophy?” Kaoru asked, a little darkly. The thought of his rival proudly displaying the spoils of his victory irked him a little, especially given that Kobayashi won with the help of intentional fouls.

“The opposite. He broke it and threw it out.” Ume chuckled.

“What…? Why?”

“I’m not so sure myself, Iwai-kun. But let me tell you this. I’ve  _ never _ seen Hiro-chan look so frustrated after a boxing match before. From looking at him, you would have thought he lost.” She smiled. “And I’ve never seen him train so hard before, either. His grades are better, and I don’t get calls from school about him anymore.”

“Oh…” Kaoru mumbled. That explained why he looked so good in his preliminary match. Iwai was taking boxing - and Kaoru - quite seriously. Even if he won the Inter-high, he clearly didn’t think he beat Kaoru.

Ume inclined her head slightly. “So… I hate to be a burden, Iwai-kun. But can you please continue to be Hiro-chan’s rival?”

As Kaoru looked at Kobayashi’s kindly grandmother’s earnest smile, there was really only one answer to that.

“I… I’ll do my best.”

>>>

November 12, 2017

Things were already lively Sunday morning at Shinoda’s. Two heavy bags in the row off to the side of the gym bounced on the chains as Ren and Kaoru worked side by side. Ren’s left whipped into the bag repeatedly, punctuating the sharp cracks with heavier overhand rights and left hand smashes. Kaoru stood closer to the bag, laying into it with jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Occasionally he would shove the bag and leap back before dashing in, adding a bob or weave around an imagined jab.

“Ugh… I get tired just  _ watching _ them.” Shou grumbled as he stretched.

“I know… Nn.. right?” Eiji agreed, working on the pull-up bar.

Both Ren and Kaoru came in with energy to spare. Ren, because of his planned date with Ann. And Kaoru, because of the words of Ume Takanashi. Kaoru paused at mid-range, his guard up. He frowned thoughtfully, glancing over at Ren. As always, his senpai’s hand speed was remarkable, allowing him to drill jab after jab into the bag. Even without an extended lead hand, it would be challenging for Kaoru to close the distance. Ren’s timer stopped, ending the round. He turned to Kaoru, wiping sweat off his forehead.

“You okay, Kaoru? You stopped early.”

“Oh! Y-yeah. I’m fine. Can I ask you a question, though?”

“Always.” Ren smiled.

“What would  _ you _ do against me?” Kaoru asked.

Ren grinned. “Thinking of moving up to welterweight?”

“No! No, not at all.” Kaoru chuckled, waving a gloved hand. “Just for argument’s sake.”

“Right. So hypothetically, in our bout to end all bouts…” Ren took his stance, facing Kaoru. “I’d stop you with jabs to start with.”

He slowly traced the trajectory of several lefts towards Kaoru’s guard. “But knowing you, you’d eventually get past them. That, or I’d  _ let _ you get past.”

“You’d let me…?”

Ren nodded. He started jabbing repeatedly, slowly. “Which way do you want to go?”

Kaoru stepped in and slipped to the inside, towards Ren’s right. “Here, and aim for a liver blow—...oh.”

His left hook to the body contacted Ren’s right elbow. An elbow block would protect Ren’s liver, and also hurt Kaoru’s fist.

“And then I’d aim for a left hook around your guard from in tight.” Ren demonstrated.

“What if I slipped to the outside?” Kaoru took a step back.

This time, the left hook came first, followed by a right straight. “Then this.” Ren said.

Kaoru frowned. “I thought so. You wouldn’t need to worry about anything else?”

Ren shook his head. “Your entire style is dependent on getting inside, Kaoru. That’s why it’s important to get a powerful step in. Even though it's obvious what you’re going to do, the idea is to get to the point where no one can do anything about it because you’re too damn fast to stop. It’s already hard to counter you - knowing the power you pack in your punches, the price I’d pay if I screwed up the timing gives me chills.”

Kaoru nodded slowly. “What if I didn’t step in?”

“Then I’d take the fight to you. Jabs and straights to keep you in my range until I got an opening for something to knock your guard away.” Ren said. “That’s why your step in is important. You have limited weapons right now. No one has to worry about you at mid or long range, so it’s important for you to force people to play your game.”

Kaoru bit his lip. He extended his left, measuring it against Ren’s outstretched arm. With both boxers at full extension, Kaoru’s fist didn’t even brush the tip of Ren’s nose. “I’m limited because of my reach, aren’t I?”

“That’s right. One of the disadvantages of being more compact.” Ren said. “It’s what makes you able to deliver such good power in tight, but it means I wouldn’t have anything to worry about from further out.”

Kaoru looked disappointed. He then snapped his gaze up, eyes wide. “Wait. You said  _ right now _ .”

“Did I?” Ren positioned himself at the heavy bag again.

“Senpai, is there something I can do? To expand my arsenal?”

Ren looked at Kaoru. His memory flashed back to his middle school years, after a particularly hard sparring match against a certain boxer with an extended left, before he learned Tommy Hearns’ Flicker jab.

_ ‘Coach… isn’t there something I can do?’ _

Ren looked over his shoulder. Kaname was still out running with the beginners.

“...After practice, go home and look up old videos of Floyd Patterson. If you watch his fights and don’t understand what I’m getting at, then just focus on what Kana-chan already has laid out for you. If you  _ do _ get it, well…” Ren grinned. “Then I’ll look forward to seeing that.”

Kaoru nodded. “Floyd Patterson…”

“Hey! Aniki! There’s someone here for you!” Shou called from the gym’s entrance.

Ren glanced at the time. It was a little early for Ann to show up. On top of that, she likely would have announced her presence with a loud ‘stop calling me  _ anesan _ , Kimura!’ He turned to the door, dropping his guard. His jaw dropped next at the sight of a ghost from his past.

“...Haya...kun?”

“Hey, Ren-chan.” Hayato grinned, sporting workout gear as well as the ever-present red bandana. “Been a while. Mind if I get a workout in?”

>>>

Kaname jogged behind the beginners, keeping an eye on their paces and sprint intervals closely. She didn’t have to bring her shinai with her anymore; it was rarely an issue of anyone lagging behind. These days, she had to keep them in check. They were a happy and competitive bunch by now, prone to pushing each other into running  _ too _ fast. The pint-sized trainer grinned. She loved that this was the kind of club she had managed to foster. Her ‘Demon Trainer’ reputation aside, boxing was supposed to be  _ fun _ .

Her grin evaporated as one of the team looked back at her.

“Coach! Last interval yet?”

“10 seconds, Hinata.”

Hinata nodded. The brunette frowned, looking over at her teammate beside her and whispering before the interval started. “...Did Coach just smile  _ not _ sadistically…?”

“Move it, Hinata!” Kaname shouted. “Otherwise share it with the class!”

“Yes Coach!”

Kaname suppressed a chuckle. The group of six booked it down the road. The interval ended, and the group jogged the rest of the way to Shinoda’s as a means of cooling down. Kaname turned to her charges, about to direct them further, when the familiar sound of squeaking shoes and impacts caught her ear. Someone was sparring. Most other times, she would have assumed it was one of the other boxers who frequented the gym. But it was only Shujin this morning.

_ ‘I didn’t schedule any free sparring until after I got back…’ _ She was comfortable with leaving Ren in charge, but it wasn’t her preference to have anyone spar without her or Coach Shinoda around. Kaname pushed the door open.

“Hey! What’s the big… idea…”

She fell silent as she took in a sight she hadn’t seen since third year of middle school. Ren Amamiya was sparring with Hayato Miyazawa. They moved about the ring, pushing and pulling back, their footwork impeccable. Hayato fought with bullet-like untelegraphed jabs; Ren blocked and returned with his off-angle flicker jabs. Kaname smiled slightly. Even years later, it was still the same with these two. Hayato expertly controlled the center. Ren took advantage of the off-angles. Neither of them landed a clean blow.

Kaoru stood at the side of the ring, mesmerized.

“Iwai. How many rounds so far?”

“Second round…” Iwai said, unable to tear his eyes away from the center of the ring. “This is… it’s incredible.”

Kaname nodded. “It is. Before he moved away, Miyazawa was right up there with Renpai. Whenever those two sparred, someone would have to step in to stop them. Otherwise, they’d just be up there with their stupid grins and--...”

No one was smiling in the ring.

Hayato’s expression was grim; almost disdainful.

Ren’s jaw was clenched. Sweat drenched his face. His shoulders were more tense than usual.

He was  _ frustrated _ .

Kaname stepped closer, going deathly silent as she watched more closely. It was true that neither of them were landing a clean blow. But it wasn’t for a lack of opportunity - for Hayato. Ren’s old friend and fellow ‘Son of Takeda’ let multiple opportunities for right straights and combinations slip by. He parried Ren’s jabs at will. There was nothing  _ technically _ wrong with Ren’s form or punches. But the national champion was doing everything he could to find an opening and failing.

Kaoru noticed Kaname’s change in demeanor immediately. He spared her a concerned look. “Kana-chan… What’s wrong?”

Kaname didn’t even register Kaoru’s use of ‘Kana-chan’ during practice time. “Has it looked like this the whole time…?”

“Y-yeah.” Kaoru said, his awe shifting to anxiety as he watched the fight. “Miyazawa-san took the center, and Amamiya-senpai took the outside.”

“That’s not it, Iwai. That’s what they looked like when we were all in middle school. Miyazawa took center with his un-telegraphed left; Amamiya took the outside with his longer reach and Flicker, leading to stalemates or marginal wins.”

Kaname watched as Ren backstepped, resetting the distance. He breathed hard, through pursed lips. This was taking everything he had.  _ ‘...When was the last time I saw Renpai get pushed…?’ _

“This time… This time, Renpai is being  _ forced  _ outside. And Miyazawa can finish this any time he wants to…”

The bell rang for the end of the second round.

Ren walked back to his corner, leaning on the ropes. “Hah… hah… hah…” He waved away Eiji, who offered a stool and water. Ren couldn’t even spare the time to drink. At the conclusion of the break, he turned to face Hayato again - who was in the process of stepping out of the ring, his gloves already off.

“...What are you doing?” Ren said, walking over to the side of the ring. “We’ve still got a round.”

Hayato shook his head. “I’ve seen enough.”

“Renpai, sit down. Drink some wa--”

“We’re  _ not _ finished, Miyazawa!” Ren shouted, stunning the gym into silence. Ren raising his voice to bark orders or encouragement wasn’t unusual. The anger and frustration in his voice was completely alien to the club, though.

Hayato took off his headgear. “ _ You _ are. If you have a problem with that, meet me in the finals. You’ll get  _ that _ far with your boxing.”

The implication of the message was clear: He’d get that far, but no further.

Hayato gathered his things. He nodded politely to Kaname. “Kaname.”

“Miyazawa.” Kaname mumbled, still trying to process what happened. Ren had been unbeatable in high school competition thus far, even against Yoshiaki Fuji, who was almost pro. Especially after learning from Hiroyuki Shirai, Ren had learned the importance of imposing his will over an opponent as opposed to simply reacting and countering. Kaname knew it was inevitable he’d have to fight someone capable of doing this as well. After all, he had already sparred against Mamoru Yamanaka as well as Shirai, who were high level professionals.

But here, Ren had run into an old friend - someone who at their last meeting was an equal. To Kaname’s eye, the point total was close, but it was close  _ at Miyazawa’s discretion _ . It could have easily been an overwhelming loss. And somehow, this ‘mercy’ was even more psychologically crushing.

She blinked, throwing a hand out as Ren stormed out the door after Hayato. Alarmed, she ran to follow him. She couldn’t let one of her boxers throw a punch in public - it would be a good way to get banned from competition and thrown in jail.

She stopped at the door.

Ren was exchanging words with Hayato. They gestured sharply at each other - apparently, the words weren’t pleasant. Eventually, Hayato turned and left. Ren stood there, fists clenched. He took a breath before turning back to the gym. He smiled at Kaname as he got to the door.

In the past,  _ any _ smile from Ren might have set her heart racing. Even now, there was still the odd twinge here and there. He was handsome, after all. But this smile - this mask - just chilled her.

“...Hey, Kana-chan. Sorry about sparring without you around. It was good to see Haya-kun again, wasn’t it? I need to get going. Ann’s going to be here soon.”

“S...sure. ...Hey! Call me later? We should review that sparring match.”

Ren waved a hand over his shoulder as he headed to the shower. “You got it.”

“Renpai!” Kaname said, grabbing at the hem of his shirt. “You  _ will _ call, right? And you’re going to be at practice tomorrow?”

“...Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Ren said, after pause that was a heartbeat too long.

“Right. See you then.” Kaname replied. She let go of his shirt.

As he walked into the shower, she looked down at her hand. That had been reflexive. Growing up together, there was a time where she’d do that reflexively. Some time before she fell in love with him, when he was her closest (and only) friend.

It was something she did when she was worried she wouldn’t see him again.

>>>

November 13, 2017

Ren sat on the sofa in the living room of the Takamaki residence. The time on his phone read 0100, but he paid little attention to it. Instead, he played back the video he’d spent the last hour watching on Youtube. It was one of Hayato’s matches from earlier in the year, one of the qualifiers for the Inter-High. He should have actually been at that tournament and fighting in Ren’s division. But for reasons he couldn’t determine through a cursory internet search, his old friend had suddenly withdrawn from the tournament at the last minute. It didn’t look like it was injury related, either.

Ren shook his head. He hadn’t even stopped to consider that Hayato might still be boxing, or that he had ended up foll owing Ren into welterweight. It made sense - their builds were comparable when they were both lightweight division boxers, and they were both still growing. But, since the Phantom Thieves, he hadn’t really thought of his old friends that much. It wasn’t like he was trying to forget them out of spite, especially not after his discussion with Ann around the time when Mona left the team.

_ ‘They didn’t just abandon you, but it’s a two-way street. Just like Reiko, even though there was pressure, they had to decide. Fine. Maybe part of it was you becoming harder, angrier, less likely to reach out. But that doesn’t make you a bad person. And even if you believe you pushed Mona away, who did he come running to for help? Who did he believe in?’ _

Ren’s phone started playing the fight again. Hayato was brilliant. He was as technically sound as Ren, and he controlled the ring in the same way that Ren had done in his final match at Nationals. But there was a certain edge to the way that Hayato fought. Something that Ren would have recognized in himself when he was in the Metaverse, when it was kill or be killed. It wasn’t that Hayato was trying to end his opponents’ life or even injure them. He just fought to  _ end the fight _ . His punches were sharp, but more than that, his feints felt  _ real _ and full of intention.

And Ren had seen it first hand. When he closed his eyes, he could still see every twitch of Hayato’s hands, every slight roll of his shoulders. All Ren could do was punch into the openings that Hayato allowed him. His old friend hadn’t even deigned to take him seriously.

But was it arrogance? Or was it because he himself wasn’t taking it seriously? Hayato fought like he was resolved. Like it was in his very nature. Meanwhile, Ren was still wrestling with the philosophical questions.

“Tigers in the shape of men…” Ren murmured, thinking back to their conversation outside the gym.

>>>

“Wait. Hayato! You’re just going to leave like that?! What the hell was  _ that _ ? What kind of training did you do?!”

“Nothing special, Ren.” Hayato turned to look at him. “Nothing different from what we did in the old days. Back when you were  _ talkin’ casually _ about goin’ pro with me.”

Ren bristled. “Is that what this is about? You walked into my team’s practice and embarrassed me because of some shit you read in a magazine--”

“The old you wouldn’t have  _ let _ me do that to you.” Hayato snapped. “The fuck happened, man? Your boxing’s as technically sound as I’ve ever seen. I can see why you cleaned up in the high school tournaments. But what you’re doing won’t take you any further than that. Didn’t we make a promise before I left?”

Ren looked at Hayato incredulously. “You’re not pissed because you’re holding me to some promise from back then, are you?”

“What do you take me for, Ren? It’s not the words.” Hayato scoffed. “Anyways. I came by because I wanted to see first hand what happened to you. Pretty damn clear that you had the right idea in the interview. You’re not the same guy.”

“I’m not. Spending a year wrongfully convicted changes things.” Ren said, glaring at Hayato.

“I heard about that.” Hayato’s expression softened for a moment. “It didn’t like hearing about what happened to you and your family. I wanted to tear that fuckin’ guy’s head off… I’m glad things worked out.”

“You sure as hell didn’t say anything about it last year.” Ren said, bitterly. He thought he had forgiven the friends who had disappeared on him - but the frustration of the sparring match and the sharp words exchanged with his old friend forced the feelings up like bile.

Hayato’s mouth opened and closed; he raised a finger to jab into Ren’s chest before letting it drop to his side. He shook his head. “Self-centered ass. D’you think you’re the only person who had a tough year? And now here you are, getting interviewed by reporters and dating models. I don’t care if you aren’t going pro. But why the fuck are you even boxing anymore?”

“I…” Ren trailed off.

“Tch. Figures.” Hayato squared his shoulders and turned away. “I can’t even stand to look at you anymore, Ren. See you at the Winter Cup. I’m sure we’ll meet in the finals.”

>>>

On his phone, the fight ended. He glanced at the hallway, at the door to Ann’s bedroom. She hadn’t noticed him get out of bed, thankfully. Too sleepy after a busy day of celebrating her birthday, and then a busy night of  _ celebrating _ her birthday, as evidenced by the burgundy mini-dress thrown onto the sofa beside him. Ren had successfully played the role of attentive boyfriend. If Ann suspected something was up, she hadn’t mentioned it. Not that it was particularly difficult - as always, Ann’s presence was a salve for his heart. And in the evening, the total sum of meaningful looks with upturned eyes, fluttering eyelashes, and ‘accidental’ teasing had driven him to forget the two things plaguing his mind.

First, trying to determine the reason for Hayato’s hostility.

_ ‘What happened to you, Hayato?’  _ Ren thought, thinking of how his former gym mate let something slip about a ‘tough year’. Whatever it was, it had turned Hayato into a frightening fighter. Or rather, it had  _ forced _ him into becoming one. 

Ren sighed. And Hayato’s hostility aside, there was another thing.

Why  _ was _ Ren boxing?

He started as an elementary school student because he had a crush on his teacher.

He kept doing it because he was good at it.

And then last year… He fought because it was  _ necessary. _ He fought, killed, and pushed himself to new heights of skill and intensity because lives depended on it. Because  _ Ann’s _ life depended on it. In a way, it made sense that his motivation had decreased. Last year, his opponents included a cognitive version of Rui Tachibana, one of the deadliest combatants he knew, Mamoru Yamanaka, a crazed muscle bound Shadow version of a vengeful politician, and a literal God. 

This year, he was fighting other students for shiny faux-gold trophies made out of plastic. Hard to generate much willpower for that.

Even in this moment, Ren smiled at the irony.

Right now, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts was in fact, _lacking_ heart .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nishinari District, Osaka - I tried not to make this up. It is an actual lower income area with high proportion of homeless/unemployed. The place where Hayato's dad lives isn't a specific place within the district. Just a 'poorest of the poor' type area.
> 
> Kaoru's boxing style - Never really got into 'why' I made him an infighter. In P5, he looked like a short, good boy with a clean cut image. Looked like that in Mementos Mission manga as well, so I instantly thought of Ippo from HnI. Moreover, Kaname and her father were written as infighters/swarmers from the start, so it felt 'right'. After all, Ren's physical build/talent pushed him away from being an ideal fit to Shinji Takeda's preferred style. Difference between Kaoru and Ippo - Kaoru prefers to NOT block punches with his face.
> 
> Medical school in Japan - direct entry from high school, six year program before internship/residency
> 
> Kansai accent/Hayato's accent - His hometown is Osaka, so he speaks this variant. He moved from Osaka to Kamakura, then back to the kansai region for high school. He goes to high school in Kyoto, but lives in a dormitory. His father lives in Osaka (to the south, 1-1.5 hours away)
> 
> 'Maid for Mew' - #sorrynotsorry
> 
> Hayato has a comically bad sense of direction. He meant to show up at morning practice right when it started, but wandered Setagaya for 2-3 hours instead.
> 
> Ann and Ren's bad kansai accent is indeed based off old anime/movies, with liberal use of out-of-date vocab and the classic "Haaah?!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why _is_ Hayato so worked up over a promise made as know-nothing middle schoolers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitions/Other Notes
> 
> sailor fuku: sailor uniform, more common for middle schoolers.  
> Ueda: the same Ueda-san who drove the Phantom Thieves up to the mountain during GtD where they learned the true nature of teamwork (and the true nature of Kaname)  
> cross (boxing): punch from the dominant/back hand  
> Detroit style guard: Low leading hand. Means you can't use left to parry/block as well, but screws up lines of sight/angles for jabs for the opponent  
> CTE: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: Brain degeneration caused by repeated head trauma. Can get depression/dementia like symptoms and worse  
> sakki: Loosely translated as 'bloodlust', but doesn't quiiiite capture it. More on this in end notes.  
> heart (boxing): See previous chapter. Determination/perseverance/guts. Some might say that a fighter with 'heart' is one who gets up when he can't.  
> kotatsu: heated Japanese style table. Cozy. Responsible for many unanticipated naps  
> Koshien: The biggest high school sports tournament/championship in Japan across all sports. It's for baseball.  
> Conbini: Convenience store  
> aniki: lit. brother, in this context the big brother/boss of a gang

March 22, 2015 

“Ueda-san? Have you seen those two idiots anywhere? They haven’t given me their hand wraps and gloves yet.” Kaname asked. She had already changed back into her sailor _fuku_ at the end of practice at the Takeda Boxing Gym in Kamakura. “And they didn’t help clean up, either. Even though we ran practice long just so they could spar one more time.”

Ueda, one of the assistant trainers at the gym, nodded his head at the stairs. “I think they went to the roof.” 

“Seriously?” Kaname grumbled, grabbing her shinai. “If they’re screwing around up there, I’ll--”

“Kaname.”

Kaname paused at her father’s gravelly voice.

“Give them a few minutes.” Shinji said, seemingly nonchalant.

“Why? They had plenty of time to say goodbye in that last sparring match. Honestly otou-san, you’re spoiling them--”

“Haha, Kaname-chan’s _jealous_ of Hayato…!” Someone said, somewhere behind Kaname.

Kaname whirled around, glaring daggers at the boxers behind her. They all looked away innocently; even some of the pros seemed to be unnerved by the first-year middle school student. She huffed, turning back to her father.

“...Fine. But it’s not like they’re never going to see each other again.”

>>>

On the roof, two sets of boxing gloves and hand wraps were neatly laid out to dry in the last rays of the setting sun. It was still cool outside in Kamakura as the last vestiges of winter hung on before succumbing to the spring. But, the temperature didn’t bother the two third-year middle schoolers who were also laying out in the last light of the day, each of them occupying one of the beach chairs on the roof. Each of them wore a ‘Takeda Boxing’ sweatshirt; each of them seemingly dozed lazily. While their appearances weren’t even close to similar - one had spiky black hair and gunmetal blue eyes, the other an unruly raven mess and quicksilver irises - there was something in their postures and even their breathing that might have made someone think they were related.

Abruptly, the one with spiky hair turned, his left hand shooting out in a jab toward the other boxer.

This was immediately countered with a right parry, and then a left flicker jab. The first boxer braced himself for the punch - he knew he’d be too late to block or parry. Skin contacted skin… in the form of a slap on his cheek.

“Ow! What the hell, Ren-chan! There’s no slapping in boxing!” Hayato rubbed his cheek, glaring at Ren.

“And there’s no punching sleeping opponents, either, Haya-kun.”

“Oh come on, like you were sleeping. You parried that jab perfectly.” Hayato scoffed.

“That’s because I can parry whatever you throw in my sleep. Literally.” Ren stuck out his tongue.

“Then why did I win downstairs, huh?!” Hayato stuck out his tongue _and_ pulled down his lower eyelid.

“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.”

“Well, what about _these nuts_ , then?! You’re just pissy because I got the better of you in our final sparring match--...”

Hayato trailed off. Ren’s smirk faded. Almost simultaneously, they both sighed quietly.

“Hey, Ren-chan--”

“Haya-kun, I--”

They both looked up at the clear sky, painted orange and red in the sunset. After a moment, Ren turned slightly in his beach chair to look over at Hayato.

“So, with the result of today’s spar, where does that leave us?”

Hayato looked thoughtful, pursing his lips. “I think we’re tied. It’s hard to keep count now, you know?”

Ren smiled. “Neither of us really gets ahead by more than one or two, anyway.”

Another awkward silence. The two boys were talented boxers, probably better than they had any right to be for their age. But as sharp and strong as their punches were, they were still boys. Farewells were strange and uncomfortable, an intrusion of real life into what had up until recently felt like an endless youth. So much was changing. They were both going to high school next month. Ren was going to stay in Kamakura. Hayato was moving back to the Kansai region. He was going to go to school in Kyoto, north of his hometown of Osaka.

“Ne, Haya-kun. You’re going to keep boxing, right?”

“...Yeah. I will.” Hayato nodded, raising his fist.

Ren bumped his knuckles. "I’m going to keep getting stronger, too. Nothing has to change. We’ll keep training and aiming for the top. Then one day, I’ll be waiting for you there.”

“More like _I’ll_ be waiting for _you._ ”

Ren grinned. “Or that. Either way… This just means that even if you’re moving away… We’ll meet again.”

“Yeah, Ren-chan! In the pro ring, for sure! It’s a promise.”

“Well. As long as you actually learn how to throw a decent cross.” Ren shrugged. “Jabs are nice and all, but if your right keeps sucking, you might as well give up now.”

“Can’t set up a right _without_ a good jab. I can’t believe you call that limp noodle a Flicker. Hearns would come to Japan and knock you into next Sunday if he heard about it.”

“You know a lot about limp noodles, huh-- ...Why are you taking out your phone?”

“I’m going to call _Rei-chan_ and apologize in advance for messing up your pretty face.”

“! I told you, you don’t get to call her that!”

The two sprang to their feet, grinning fiercely as they took their stances. Hayato with his extended left, Ren in his low-left Detroit-style guard.

“HEY! The hell are you two idiots doing!?” Kaname shouted, smacking her shinai against the rooftop door. “Fighting without gloves on again?! Do you _want_ to get concussed?!”

Hayato frowned. “If you really cared about that, you wouldn’t come after us with that shinai so much, Kaname-chan--Ouch!”

“Haha. Can’t get concussed if she smacks your ass— Ow!”

>>>

November 18, 2017 

“Thanks, Kana-chan.” Ren nodded to the first-year student slash trainer on his way out of Shinoda’s. He collected his headphones and phone from her, freshly charged and programmed with the appropriate running intervals.

“No problem, Renpai. Have a good run.” Kaname replied.

Kaname watched him go, a small frown on her face as she returned to making small adjustments to each boxer’s training program based on metrics like their interval speeds, performance in drills, and even body weight. Right now, the team members were all either out running or working with Coach Shinoda and the other trainers at Shinoda Boxing. This left Kaname free to let her mind wander a little as she scratched away in her notebooks, one for each fighter.

At the forefront of her thoughts were her two victors from the Fall Nationals, Ren and Kaoru. Neither of them were in the gym at the moment. Since Ren’s sparring match against his old friend, the two of them seemed a bit off. For whatever reason, Kaoru seemed to be logging a lot of extra individual practice away from prying eyes. Lately, he was always busy either doing schoolwork or training despite only being a first-year student. It wasn’t affecting his performance or focus, but it irritated her. As his trainer, she couldn’t complain - he was still meeting all the milestones she laid out. But as his _girlfriend_ , she thought he’d _want_ to spend more time with her.

 _‘Not that it bothers me!’_ Kaname huffed, irritated at her own irritation. _‘Dumb ox can do whatever he wants.’_

She shook her head, hoping no one caught the angry/disappointed pout that was briefly on her face. As for Ren, it was a little more clear what the issue was; he was still brooding over the result of the sparring match. While he was certainly fulfilling his responsibilities as Shujin’s captain, he was a little less approachable. He tended to go right from his roadwork to his individual exercises without giving any of his kouhai a chance to ask questions. He was also meeting all his training goals beautifully and working hard, but her gut feeling was that something wasn’t quite right.

She wasn’t sure what advice she could offer him. After all, this was the first boxing-related funk she had seen him in. Ever since she followed him to Shujin and became his main trainer, Kaname had been spoiled by how easy her captain and former crush was to work with. It surprised her. Ren had always been a true student of the sport, but before his forced hiatus he was prone to goofing off occasionally. Even after Hayato moved away, he did things like stalling in a championship match so he could win with Reiko watching. This year, he trained diligently. He looked after the other members of the team like a captain should. Kaname felt lucky as a trainer - most of the time when she _considered_ making an adjustment to Ren’s training, he either already did, or approached her with the idea himself.

And the results showed. Since returning to the ring, Ren hadn’t really been pushed. It wasn’t that his victories were all easy - however there was certainly a sense that he was always in control of the match, that all of the training and practice paid off. But against Hayato, he had been completely helpless. To her eye, there wasn’t anything wrong with Ren’s boxing in terms of technique. His angles and timing were fine; his hand speed was as good as ever. Considering only his side of the bout, there was no difference to how he performed compared to his win at Nationals.

But Hayato brushed him off, parrying and slipping at ease, not even feeling the need to put any power behind his punches. He had beaten Ren in the worst possible way - without even acknowledging that he was a threat. Hayato boxed like he was completely fearless--

Kaname nearly dropped her tablet. She stood up, darting past Shinoda. “Coach! I’m using your office!”

“Eh? Sure, just remember to…” He trailed off. The door to the office was already closed.

Kaname got onto Shinoda’s computer and started a video call. It took a few tries, but eventually the familiar face of her father popped up on screen, sitting in front of the computer in their home office. Apparently, she caught him just after getting back from the boxing gym.

“Kaname? Aren’t you in the middle of practice? You can’t leave your boxers alone. It’s tournament season--”

“Otou-san!” Kaname interrupted. She opened two videos. One of them was Ren’s return match against Setoguchi, the opponent he beat with just his left jab, hook, and a sudden switch to southpaw. The second was his match at Nationals, where he had his convincing win over Fuji. “What do you see?”

“You don’t need to show me.”

“No, seriously! Otou-san, I--”

Shinji shook his head. “I know already, Kaname. I’ve been watching the videos and all of the televised matches. And after you told me about Miyazawa’s visit, I watched them all again.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!” Kaname shouted. Her eyes widened. She _never_ shouted at her father. “...I mean…”

Shinji crossed his arms. “...Because you want to follow in my footsteps, don’t you, Kaname? You’ll learn more if I leave you to figure things out on your own. So why don’t _you_ tell me what you see?”

“In Renpai’s return bout, everyone was focused on his left. Either how fast and sharp his jab was, or how his left straight came out of nowhere. But the only reason he was able to use it like that was because Setoguchi was _terrified_ of his right.”

“That’s correct. Setoguchi was the one who tried to rattle the kid’s cage by saying some pretty disgusting things about Takamaki-san, wasn’t he? So the kid was pissed. That anger turned into a pretty impressive edge. His jabs hit deeper and faster. Each of his feints felt like a real punch, with real _sakki_ behind them. I bet that Setoguchi couldn’t help but think ‘the second I assume he’s not going to use his right, he’s going to take my head off’.”

“And since then, Renpai’s dominated his fights with technique and timing, which has been more than enough for most high school level opponents. He pulled off something similar at Nationals, but even that was more technique than anything else. Even the last punch. That had good power and timing, but the _intent_ wasn’t there. For whatever reason, Renpai’s intensity tailed off.”

“I agree. His match against Fuji was brilliant in terms of tactics and techniques, but he was lacking a certain edge. And against Miyazawa, that won’t work. When those two were together, they competed every chance they got. They _know_ each other. From what Miyazawa’s coach tells me, he’s improved at least as much as the kid and moreover he’s fully committed to going pro.”

“...And if the speed, technique and power are similar, then the only thing separating them is ‘heart’.” Kaname said, slowly. “Right now Renpai’s… indecisive. He doesn’t know where he wants to go with boxing. From what I can tell, he wants to get stronger, fight stronger people, but he isn’t sure if he wants to risk injuring others and himself by going pro.”

Shinji sighed, nodding. “He’s fighting like he has something to lose. Mind you, it’s not completely a bad thing. It makes him more defensive and more likely to have a career without a severe injury. _Whatever_ he was doing last year, he fought battles that were higher stakes than high school boxing. Maybe even pro boxing. Right now, I think he’s trying to decide if it’s really okay to box the same way he fought.”

Kaname nodded. “So, what should I do?”

“I think this is one he has to figure out for himself, Kaname. It had to happen sooner or later. The fact that it was Miyazawa is probably a good thing. The kid will still remember how the two of them were basically neck-and-neck. The fact that he got his ass handed to him so badly by someone he remembers as his equal is a valuable lesson.”

“...Is it really okay to leave this alone, otou-san?” Kaname asked, uncertainly.

Shinji nodded. His stern expression warmed into a small, proud smile. “Why do you think I let you figure this out yourself, Kaname? All you need to do is guide him the way you have been, and he’ll be fine. So will you. You’re ‘Coach Takeda’ too, aren’t you?”

Kaname’s eyes widened. She sat up a little straighter in the chair, nodding earnestly. “Yes Coach!”

Shinji chuckled. “Now. How’s the other one? The greenhorn. Watching footage of his fight brought back memories, heh…”

Kaname grumbled. “Stupid Ox is doing something on his own. He won’t tell me what.”

Shinji frowned. “Is he slacking on the rest of his program?”

“No.” Kaname muttered, darkly.

“...Then what’s the problem?”

“He’s not spending as much time with me—...” Kaname trailed off. She blushed and thought about immediately hanging up. Her conversations with her father were generally about boxing or food. Certainly not boys.

Shinji blinked. He coughed awkwardly. “Oh. Well… Uh…--Whoa!”

Shinji yelped as he was suddenly shoved off-screen, the well-maintained wheels of his office chair carrying him away. Hana Takeda, Shinji’s wife and Kaname’s step-mother put down another chair and took a seat in front of the computer.

“! Okaa-san…?”

“Oh, Kana-chan! I’ve missed you _so_ much. Dear, why don’t you let me talk to our daughter for a little while? Don’t forget to close the door on your way out! Thank~you~!”

Kaname stared blankly as her father was ushered out. “Uh…?”

“You’re both hopeless when it comes to things like this.” Hana said, pleasantly. Ever since Kaname warmed up to her over the summer, Hana had enthusiastically gotten involved in Kaname’s love life. Kaname had actually asked for Hana’s advice about his birthday present over the summer. “So what’s this about Iwai-kun, hm?”

Kaname stared at the keyboard. She mumbled. “...He’s been spending a lot of time training lately. And studying. It’s not that he’s doing anything bad. He’s just… I mean I…”

“You’re feeling lonely, aren’t you, Kana-chan?”

“I am _not_!” Kaname snapped, looking up. Her pink-stained cheeks and involuntary pout showed that her stepmother had clearly hit the mark, however. “It’s just that as his trainer, he should be telling me what he’s up to! Yeah!”

“So then, why don’t you ask him what he’s up to? As his _trainer_.” Hana asked, her eyes sparkling as she played with her braid. At this moment, she looked more like a classmate than a woman in her late thirties.

“...Because I don’t want to be one of those annoying, pushy girlf-- _trainers_.” Kaname said, sulkily.

“Ah. Well, then. You could just tell him that you’d like to spend a little more time together.” Hana smiled.

“Like I said, okaa-san! I don’t want to be annoying. What if he starts hating me?... As his trainer. What if he goes and gets a prettier trainer!? One with a better personality, and with bigger--...hitting mitts.” Kaname finished, averting her eyes from the screen. She didn’t want to see her stepmom’s amused grin.

“Kana-chan.” Hana’s voice wasn’t mocking - just gentle. She spoke as Kaname looked back up. “He’s a good boy, isn’t he? From when we met, and from everything you told me. I don’t think he’d start hating you over that. After all, why wouldn’t he want to spend more time with his cute girlfriend?”

“Trainer.” Kaname said, obstinately. She did smile a little, though.

“Whichever.” Hana shrugged, smiling.

>>>

“Thanks everyone!” Ann smiled, waving at the crew from _Popteen_ magazine. They had just wrapped up an on-site shoot in Shinjuku. The red-light district was already becoming crowded as Saturday night picked up and people started looking for their after-dinner drinking establishment or party of choice.

“No, thank _you_ , Takamaki-san!” The photographer smiled, flipping through the pictures on his camera. “These are fantastic. Matsuda-san was right about you. ...Say, if you aren’t doing anything after, how about--”

“Settle down there, Toru-kun. She’s got a boyfriend, remember?” The makeup artist chided. She smiled at Ann. “That handsome boxing team captain, right? I’ve seen him at your shoots before. He didn’t come today?”

“Ah, no. He’s busy training. He has a Winter Cup preliminary match next week.” Ann said. She waved. “Thanks again! I’ll see you guys next time.”

Ann walked away from the shoot, glancing at her phone. She sighed - not a single text from Ren. Like Kaname, she knew that something was up with him. Ever since her birthday last week, her boyfriend seemed a bit off. It wasn’t that he was inattentive or standoffish. In fact, her new lock screen photo was a selfie of the two of them standing in front of the penguin exhibit at the Edogawa Zoo, the place where they went for her ‘birthday date’. At the time, Ann was having too good of a time to notice anything amiss. And certainly later in the evening at her place, Ann hadn’t noticed anything amiss. After all, it was the start of two months of little-to-no adult supervision with her parents gone on a business trip.

But as the week went by, Ann noticed something. If she had to put words to it, she would have said that the boxer was trying too hard to be happy. Thankfully it was different from Children’s Day, or the moments before the battle against the Holy Grail when he was trying to hide his probable death from her.

Ann frowned, putting her phone away as she headed towards the train station in Shinjuku.

 _‘This time, it’s more like he’s trying to convince_ **_himself_ ** _that everything’s fine_ . _’_

She did probe gently, of course. She found out from Ren himself that he lost a sparring match badly. But he had lost before, to Yamanaka, Shirai, and a number of other pros or collegiate boxers that Shinoda was able to bring to practice with Shujin’s boxing team. She found out later from Shou that the fighter in question was probably an old friend of Ren’s.

She sighed. _‘Wish I could do something for him. He didn’t seem eager to talk about it. Maybe he’ll be more up for it when I see him tonight.’_

Ann stepped into a convenience store, purchasing a few odds and ends she needed before heading over to Yongenjaya. As she left the shop, she ‘oofed’ as someone nearly bowled her over. 

“! Crap! Sorry!” He said, in a familiar accent (and voice, for that matter).

“It’s fine--...Miyazawa-san?” Ann blinked, looking up at the boxer.

“...Oh! Takamaki-san, right? Fancy meetin’ you here.” Hayato said, grinning. His smile shifted into a disapproving frown. “Are you sure you should be here? Shinjuku can be a little dangerous at night for a high school girl, can’t it? What are you even doin’ here?”

“I was at work.” Ann said, dumbfounded.

“Oh.” Hayato glanced over Ann’s shoulder at the convenience store. “You work in a _conbini_? Huh. That’s weird. I would have guessed you’d be a model or somethin’.”

“I don’t work at a-- You know, nevermind that!” Ann snapped, stamping her foot. “What are _you_ doing here?! Don’t you live in Kyoto?!”

“Oh! Haha. Funny story. See, after I visited that friend of mine, we had a sparrin’ match and I went home. Then I told my coach I visited another gym. He uh, was kinda pissed that I went and had a practice match in another gym without properly greetin’ their head trainer. I kinda left rudely and didn’t bring anythin’... And on top of that, my coach knows the head trainer there, so he was _really_ embarrassed at what I did.”

Ann shook her head slowly. She knew another boxer who would brainlessly spar and practice at any opportunity. “So he sent you back to Tokyo this weekend just to apologize?”

“...heh. Yeah. Coach Kubo is a bit of a hardass about this kinda thing.” Hayato muttered. “He also had some errands he needed done in Tokyo, so this whole thing is pretty much a penance trip.”

“So you’re done, then? Do you need directions?” Ann asked, thinking of Hayato’s directionally-challenged brain.

“Ah, no. I’m totally fine. I’m takin’ the bus from Shinjuku back to Kyoto. I’m even _early_.” Hayato said, proudly. He showed Ann his ticket.

Ann looked at it. Her eyes widened. Normally, she wouldn’t laugh at someone about something like this, but Hayato’s proud grin and earnest expression were just too much. She started snickering.

“...What? What’d I do?” Hayato asked, looking at his ticket in confusion.

“You’re early by a _day_ . You booked a seat for _tomorrow_ , Miyazawa-san!”

“No. That can’t be. I--...Oh, _shit_.”

Ann led Hayato over to the stop for the Shinjuku night bus to Kyoto in an effort to have his booking moved up to tonight. Unfortunately, the bus was completely booked for Saturday night; no seats remained. Ann shook her head, facepalming at the boxer.

“Ah, y’know, I’m fine! Honestly, you should get home, Takamaki-san. It’s dangerous here.” Hayato said.

“Then what are you going to do, Miyazawa-san?” Ann asked.

“I’ll just find a place to stay. I mean, there’s plenty of hotels here, right?”

At the words ‘find a place to stay’ and ‘hotels’, several hosts and hostesses with broad, too-friendly smiles started edging closer to Hayato.

Ann rolled her eyes. She grabbed Hayato’s shoulder, giving him a shove as she walked him towards the subway station. “I’m _clearly_ not the one in danger here! Come on. I have a place you can stay.”

Hayato’s jaw dropped. “W-w-what!? Don’t you have a boyfriend?! I mean, it’s not like I wouldn’t mind. You’re _really_ pretty, but--”

“Don’t be a pervert.” Ann sighed, swiping her transit pass on the turnstile. “You’re not staying with me. You’re staying with my boyfriend.”

>>>

“Hm? Oh, sure. That’s fine, Songbird. Always happy to help out a fellow fighter.” Ren said, his phone tucked between his shoulder and ear while he washed some dishes at Leblanc. “I’ve already got the kotatsu set up, so there’s no shortages of places to crash in the attic. See you soon.” 

He hung up and looked over at Sojiro. “Hey, Boss. Mind if I head upstairs for a bit? Ann has a friend from Kyoto who needs a place to crash. Need to clean up a little.”

“Sure.” Sojiro said, waving. “I think I can handle the customers. Bit of a rowdy bunch, though.” He said, with a wry smile.

Kaname and Kaoru were the only customers in the cafe, occupying the booth closest to the door. The two of them were sitting opposite each other, apparently studying. After practice, Kaoru tagged along with Ren - the first-year liked the atmosphere at Leblanc and found he usually got a lot done. Kaname had suddenly announced that she needed to get some schoolwork done too, inviting herself along.

The two of them essentially spent the afternoon in relative silence, working on assignments or otherwise studying. To Kaoru, it was pretty clear that something was bothering Kaname. Every once in a while, she’d look up at him, like she wanted to say something - and when he met her eyes, she’d immediately glare back down at her notes. He wasn’t annoyed, though. He knew that if he gave her enough time, she’d find a way to say what she wanted. He frowned as he struggled on a math problem.

He looked up to ask Kaname about it. “Hey, Kana-chan. What do you think about this problem?”

Kaname was already staring at him - she jumped slightly, looking back at her notes. Not glaring this time, but _blushing_.

Sojiro rolled his eyes. He had been watching this exchange since they got here. He walked around the bar, heading to the door. “Hey, guys. I’m going to buy some stuff over at the supermarket. If someone comes in, just call Ren down.”

“Right, Boss.” Kaoru nodded. They were alone, now. He hoped this meant Kaname would tell him whatever was bothering her.

Her eyes remained fixed on her notes.

Kaoru smiled slightly. As always, his girlfriend slash trainer was full of contradictions. She was always so quick to speak her mind when it came to her role as the coach and manager of their team. But when it came to her actual feelings, her substantial pride always firmly stood in the way. Just like how his own shyness and lack of self-confidence would have prevented their unlikely relationship from blooming if it wasn’t for the encouragement of Ren and Ryuji. As always, Kaoru fell back on their usual icebreaker - boxing.

“Ne, Kana-chan? Can I ask you a question about the Winter Cup?”

“Hm?” Kaname instantly relaxed. Kaoru managed to conceal his relieved sigh.

“How big of a tournament _is_ it, really? Like, how does it compare to the basketball Winter Cup, or to _Koshien_?”

Kaname looked thoughtful. “I don’t think anything really compares to Koshien. The final game draws in something like forty-thousand people, even though it’s just baseball.”

“Not a fan?”

“Not enough punching.” Kaname shrugged, flashing a grin. “But, anyway. Fall Nationals were held at Usuda Academy… They’re a sports-focused school, so they had multiple gyms going. I’d say attendance was probably around two thousand if you added up all the gyms over all the days. The Winter Cup this year takes place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Same one that volleyball uses for their major tournament in the spring.”

Kaoru dropped his pencil in shock. He completely forgot the reason why he wanted to get Kaname talking in the first place. “Are you serious?! Doesn’t that place have a spectator capacity of 10,000 people?!”

“So, not _quite_ Koshien.” Kaname grinned. “But you can call it the Koshien of boxing, if you want.”

“How… How am I fighting _there_ in my first year?!” Kaoru nearly shouted. He broke into a cold sweat; he felt panic and ‘imposter syndrome’ seep into his soul.

“You’re a Takeda boxer.” Kaname said, flippantly. After a moment, she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “The thought did cross my mind as well, in all honesty. We’re almost _too_ successful for a new boxing team. But we have a perfect storm.”

“Perfect storm?”

Kaname tore a page out of her notebook, doodling on it. She first drew a caricature of a man with a comically large chin, with demon eyes and pointy teeth. “First of all, from what Renpai tells me Kamoshida created a power vacuum in terms of sports at Shujin. The bastard killed almost every sport except volleyball. So that’s why we had some multipurpose room lying empty to make our own boxing gym on campus.”

Kaname drew the ring next, with several more stick figures. “And then Kawakami-sensei roped Renpai into the club and stayed on as faculty advisor slash coach. Then he had all those yakuza-wannabes join up. Even though most of them graduated, at least we have the idiot twins as sorta-capable second-year boxers, now. And the ones that didn’t join up again this year are pretty solid supporters. I’m actually trying to organize them into a cheering squad.”

She then drew another box - Shinoda’s. “And on top of _that_ , Tetsu-san knows my dad and worked with Ren during his hiatus. So now we have access to two training facilities, a faculty advisor who actually gives a damn as the ‘official’ head coach, a pro-level coach as the ‘assistant’ coach, a veteran captain, second-years to ensure the succession, and a stable of eager rookies - headed by yourself.”

She looked over the paper, frowning. “And then there was the surprise factor. No one expected Renpai to tear apart the inter-high circuit so effectively from the start. On top of that, the idiot twins are actually capable when they aren’t screwing around. And _you_ surprised the hell out of everyone, too. Though, that’s going to wear off for the Winter Cup tournament. Futaba tells me people have been downloading all of our fight videos or watching them on Youtube. All four of you are being researched. I wouldn’t be shocked if you all ran into more trouble in the preliminaries than expected.”

Kaname continued. “Boxing’s a volatile sport… It isn’t like volleyball or basketball. There, your third-years and second-years make up most of the team, with a few talented first-years. They cover each other's weaknesses. It’s harder for luck and individual talent to change things drastically. It’s harder for a powerhouse school to show up or disappear overnight.”

“We can’t take anything for granted just because everything’s worked out. After all, after the Winter Cup, third-year boxers usually retire from the high school circuit if they haven’t already. We’re only losing one boxer, but that one boxer is Renpai.”

Kaoru nodded tightly. He then gave Kaname an uncharacteristically confident smile. “We’ll be fine, Coach. I mean… We have _you_ for the next three years, don’t we? The Legendary Demon Trainer.”

Kaname’s reaction was different from what Kaoru expected. She bit her lip, pushing the paper on the table back and forth as her green eyes flickered down to it.

“...Kana-chan?”

“If you feel that way, then why aren’t you telling me what you’re doing, lately?”

“...Training. Training and studying.” Kaoru said, awkwardly. He _was_ working on something based on the videos that Ren had told him to look up, but he wasn’t quite ready to tell Kaname. Partly because it deviated from her strategy for the upcoming fights. “I haven’t been overworking myself. I’ve been following the training program closely, haven’t I?”

“I know. But I’m your trainer, aren’t I?” Kaname snapped, glaring at him. _That_ wasn’t a surprising reaction. But the way she bit her lip as her eyes flickered back down to the table, accompanied by a voice _much_ smaller than he was used to from her certainly was. “I… I just…”

She finished at a mumble.

“...Sorry? ‘Issue’?”

“...iss you.”

“...?”

Kaname’s eyes flashed. She lunged forward, grabbing Kaoru by the collar and hauling him forward. “I said I _miss you, you dumb ox!_ I miss my boyfriend! OKAY?! _”_

She sat back, breathing hard.

“...Oh. Sorry, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said, shocked. He sighed. He reached across the table, squeezing her hand. She didn’t respond; when he started to pull his hand back, she quickly twined her fingers with his.

“No. I’m sorry, Iwai--..Kaoru. I’m… not good at this stuff. And with you, it’s even more confusing. I’m not sure where the line is between ‘trainer’ and ‘girlfriend’.” Kaname said. She then looked at him, almost fiercely. “But I’m not going to give up on trying to figure it out! Just… What are you doing? Are you still in this?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. “What?! No-- I mean, yes! Of course I am! I… I’m working on something outside of the training program you suggested. Something that Amamiya-senpai hinted at. I didn’t want to show you until I have something more substantial figured out…”

Kaname frowned. “You’re supposed to come to me with these things. I can help you.”

Kaoru shook his head, sighing. “I… It’s silly, but I want to do it myself. I want to be reliable like Amamiya-senpai. He’s always trying new things and experimenting without waiting for you or Coach Shinoda. Besides, don’t you always say that boxers learn better if we work things out on our own a little?”

Kaname considered Kaoru for a long moment. She then sighed, nodding. “...Fine. Your girlfriend’s behind you, Kaoru.”

“Thanks, Kana-chan--Ouch!”

Kaname’s grip on his hand tightened substantially. She smiled, but her eyes were flat. Threatening. “But, Iwai… If you screw up your training or your preliminary match… Then your _trainer_ will be very unhappy with you.”

>>>

Ann and Hayato stepped off the train in Yongenjaya.

“So your boyfriend lives around here?” Hayato asked. “And he’s really okay with some random stranger crashin’ with him? A random stranger who’s been hangin’ out with his girlfriend?”

“Mmhm!” Ann smiled warmly, as she usually did when thinking of Ren. “He finds it hard to _not_ help people. In his own words, he said he was happy to help out a fellow boxer. And he trusts me too much to get jealous over making a friend.”

“Heh. Sounds like a stand-up guy.” Hayato glanced at Ann, momentarily feeling envious of whoever her boyfriend was. She was already stunning; she seemed even prettier when she was talking about the guy.

_‘Better get over it real quick. If she looks like this, her boyfriend’s probably like one of those sparkly dudes out of the manga that Ren-chan used to read. And apparently this dude’s a freaking saint, too, letting’ me crash like this.’_

“I’m surprised you really don’t have any other place to stay, though, Miyazawa-san.” Ann said. “I thought you said you had a friend in town?”

Hayato shook his head. “We didn’t part on good terms.” 

“That’s too bad.” Ann said. She paused at the supermarket. “Oh, hang on. I didn’t think to get snacks at the conbini… Anyway, what happened between the two of you?”

“Ah, it’s stupid.” Hayato shrugged, shaking his head.

Ann dropped some Pocky and chips into a shopping basket, along with some strawberry milk. She glanced at Hayato, with a wry smile. “You sound just like my boyfriend when he’s trying to avoid talking about something that he doesn’t actually think is stupid. You can talk about it if you want. I won’t judge.”

Hayato glanced at Ann. He wasn’t quick to trust, but for some reason, he believed her. “...Remember how I told you it was about a promise we made? To go into pro boxing together?”

Ann nodded as the cashier rang up her purchases.

“Like I said, it was the one of the last things we said to each other before I had to move away. It was just a promise between two middle school punks with nothin’ but boxing gloves for brains. But… he was my best friend, y’know? And after I moved away, I went through some tough times. It sounds crazy, but that promise kept me goin’. Even when I didn’t have any other reason to keep goin’, just thinkin’ of how that scrawny bastard was goin’ to be waitin’ for me was enough.”

Hayato clenched a fist, shaking his head. When he and Ren sparred last week, it was like all the intensity had gone out of his old friend’s boxing. Like he had thrown away his past… like he had thrown away all of his old friendships. Hayato felt like the promise that kept him going was _nothing_ to the guy he thought of as a brother.

“...Long story short, it turned out that this friend of mine didn’t think much of that promise after all. Made me feel like an idiot for believin’ in him, y’know?”

Ann thought of Ren, and how last year, his promise to her on Children’s Day was what kept him going. She understood immediately - if their pact had been one-sided on either of their parts, it would have been crushing.

“I think I understand, Miyazawa-san.” Ann looked up at him. “In fact, my boyfriend would, too. I get the feeling that you two would get along.”

They stopped outside Leblanc. Hayato frowned, glancing at the locked door. “It’s pretty late… And this is a coffee shop.”

“He lives upstairs. And he knows I was working late today.” Ann said, shrugging. She took out her keys; Ren had long since made her a copy of the key to Leblanc.

“Oh. At the convenience store, you mean?”

Ann blinked. “Oh. Right. You saw me walk out of there. No, I don’t work there. I had a modelling job nearby.”

“A model…? Heh. That suits you.” Hayato said. For some reason, Ann’s actual job tickled something in his memory.

_‘...Ah. Right. Ren-chan’s also dating a model, somehow. Not like that jerk could score a girl like Takamaki. Man. I should move to Tokyo. Models love their boxers here…’_

“Thanks!” Ann opened the door and locked it behind them as they walked into the dark cafe. She led Hayato up the stairs to the attic. The sounds of gloved fists striking a heavy bag were audible from downstairs, along with the rattling chains suspending it.

“He’s got a heavy bag? Nice.”

“Mmhm. He’s got a ‘boxing glove for a brain’ too. Like I said, I think you two will really get along! Hey, Wildcard? We’re here!”

Hayato froze on the top step as he watched the heavy bag jump. He couldn’t see the boxer from his vantage point, but he suddenly felt a chill. The rhythm of the fists on the bag was familiar. So was what Ann called her boyfriend.

“...What did you just call him?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s just a nickname.” Ann said, smiling. “It used to be--”

“--his ring name.” Hayato finished.

“How did you know?” Ann brightened. “Ah! Do you know Ren already? Boxing must be a small world.”

Ren stepped out from behind the heavy bag, tugging off his gloves. “Hey, Songbird. So, who’s this directionally-challenged box...er…”

Ren’s friendly smile vanished. He and Hayato shouted simultaneously, pointing at each other from across the attic.

“Are you fucking serious?!”

“Are you fuckin’ serious?!”

>>>

Certainly, Ann’s life had taken strange turns before. First, finding the love of her life randomly under some awning on a rainy day was right out of one of the shoujo manga in Ren’s box of shame. Then there was falling for said love interest while spelunking through the brainspaces of criminals while being accompanied by a talking not-a-cat slash bus. And finally, there was an impromptu sleepover with Shiho and Ren’s ex-girlfriend to ensure that Reiko didn’t stay overnight with Ren.

However, none of these events were _quite_ as awkward as occupying one side of the kotatsu in Ren’s attic after finding out that the boxer she befriended was not only the guy responsible for putting her boyfriend into the funk he was in, but that Ren was the childhood friend responsible for irritating and disappointing Hayato so much. Both boys - and they were certainly acting like boys right now - glared at each other from across the kotatsu. Occasionally the heated table would thump as one of them kicked at the other under the table. 

“...So! Small… world?” Ann said, weakly.

“ _Too_ small.” Ren muttered. His foot thudded hard into Hayato’s thigh. “Why the hell are you back here, Haya-kun? Did the city of Kyoto smarten up and kick your ass to the curb? Tokyo doesn’t want you either, though.”

“I had to come back to apologize to Coach Shinoda for slappin’ you around, Ren-chan.” Hayato’s heel banged into Ren’s knee. “We heard you cryin’ about it all the way in Kyoto.”

“Can you two _please_ stop kicking each other?!” Ann shouted, her irritation mounting. This was supposed to be time for her and Ren, not time spent babysitting two third-year highschoolers determined to regress to middle school. Worsening matters was the fact that Ann couldn’t even get her legs under the heated table due to the ferocity of the battle, literally leaving her out in the cold.

“He started it. If he doesn’t like it, he can leave.” Ren scoffed.

“Who started it?! You’re the one takin’ up all the space under the kotatsu!” Hayato shot back.

“My house, my rules!”

“It’s an attic, dumbass!”

“You know what I meant, blockhead!”

“Fine! I’m leavin’! Better than stayin’ here.” Hayato grumbled. He started to stand.

Ann shook her head. She stood, firmly pushing down on Hayato’s shoulders. “No! At this hour on a Saturday? You’ll get lost, and then you’ll probably end up owing a massive debt to some brothel or maid cafe.”

Ren snorted. “So you really haven’t changed. Such a sucker.”

Hayato’s eyes shot over to the bed, instantly spotting the box underneath. “Neither have you. I see you brought ‘ _Kana-chan_ ’s’ stash. So, did Sawako ever end up with that dork in that shitty manga you love so much?”

Ren snarled. “He’s not a dork! His name’s Kazehaya! Kimi ni Todoke is a _masterpiece_!”

“Both of you!” Ann slammed her hands on the table. “Both of you _stop it_ ! How are you this annoying?! Have you both regressed into middle school?! Just shut up, drink some damn strawberry milk, and figure out how to have a _civil conversation_!” Ann plopped back down onto her cushion. She grabbed a box of said beverage, starting to stress-drink it as she felt her temples start to throb.

“You shouldn’t drink your calories.” Both boxers said in near unison. After looking at each other in surprise, they _almost_ smiled at each other. Then they both huffed, crossing their arms in near-identical petulant gestures.

Ann’s eye twitched. That was the last straw. She stood. “...I’m going to go and get some air.”

Ren thought she heard her mutter ‘assholes’ at the end of the sentence. He watched as she grabbed her bag, stomping down the stairs. “...Well. She’s pretty mad.”

Hayato nodded. He felt a little bad about that. “So. She’s really your girlfriend, huh?”

“Yeah.” Ren said, smiling softly.

Hayato looked at Ren’s expression. He couldn’t deny that seeing his old friend happy like that - even when his girl was mad at him - was vaguely heartwarming. He was in some way happy to see him happy. And that annoyed him. Hayato wanted to be mad. And so, he smirked at Ren.

“Y’know, _Ann-chan_ is really nice.”

Ren’s smile slowly disappeared. He turned back to Hayato, glaring at him.

“You don’t get to call her that.”

Hayato sneered in a way that felt disgusting, even to him. “Why not? We’re real _friendly_ \--Holy!”

Ren closed the distance in an instant.

Hayato stared wide-eyed at Ren. Ren’s fingers had a firm grip on Hayato’s shirt collar; his right fist was drawn back. “Alright! Alright… Ren-chan, you know I’d never! I was just tryin’ to get under your skin… Holy…”

Ren let go. He returned to his seat, sighing. “...I know. I know you wouldn’t, Haya-kun. Just… Don’t do that. Don’t try to get to me by using her. Whatever issue we have, we need to settle it between us.”

“...Yeah. We should probably apologize to her when she gets back, right?” Hayato said.

“She’s probably forgotten it already.” Ren said. He then blinked, hearing some odd scratching at the attic door, followed by the rattle of a chain and a click. “...Or not.”

Ren walked over, trying the door - it refused to budge. His phone buzzed.

**AT: Not letting you out until you two are friends again. You should have plenty of food and drink. So long as you’re willing to drink your calories. Jerks.**

Ren sighed. “...Or not.” He showed Hayato his phone. “Looks like we have to have this out.”

Hayato frowned, nodding. “Looks like. The usual way? One on one, last man standing?”

Ren looked grim. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

>>>

“God damn it, Haya-kun! You’re being cheap!” Ren shouted, hammering the buttons on one of the controllers for his vintage _Super Famicom_. On screen, his chosen character, Ryu, was trying in vain to get out from a barrage of fireballs from Hayato’s Ken.

“Not my fault you never figured out how to deal with fireball spam, Ren-chan!” Hayato crowed. “And that’s the win!”

“Best of seven, then!” Ren snapped. He started another match.

Hayato smiled, shaking his head. “Heh. This takes me back. We used to do this at your place when Coach Takeda forced us to take a break.”

Ren chuckled. “...Heh. Yeah. I remember that. He’d get Kana-chan to hide our equipment or lock us out of the gym. So if we couldn’t box, we’d play fighting games. Those were good times, Haya-kun.”

Hayato nodded. He glanced over at his old friend as Ren’s E. Honda handily defeated Hayato’s Ken. “...If they were good days, then when did you forget everything?”

Ren nearly dropped the controller. He then shook his head. “I didn’t forget everything.”

“Your boxing says otherwise.” Hayato said. “I remember when we used to go at it, I had to be careful because your right was actually worthy of bein’ called a _chopping_ right. Last week, it didn’t have the same edge to it anymore even though your technique’s gotten better. The hell happened to you, man?”

Ren resisted the urge to be defensive. He knew he was right - while he was objectively having a great season, he knew that if he hadn't run into Hayato, he likely would have come up against a similar wall eventually, whether at the Winter Cup, collegiate boxing, or in the professional ring. Someone with equal or better technique and without the same hesitation still haunting Ren’s consciousness.

“...A lot happened last year, Haya-kun. As part of the deal that cleared my name, I can’t really get into all the details about it.” Ren said, silently asking forgiveness for the white lie. “...But I’ll tell you what I can.”

So as they focused on the 2D characters slinging fireballs, hundred-hand slaps, and sonic booms, Ren told Hayato an abridged version of the story last year. He left out his and his friends’ direct involvement with the Phantom Thieves, instead focusing on his personal struggles: how he had been railroaded into a conviction and a ‘merciful’ probation. How all of his friends in Kamakura dropped him like a bad habit. How he ended up at a school ruled by a rapist who was not only gunning for Ren’s expulsion, but was on the verge of sexually assaulting both the girl he was falling for and her best friend. He also told Hayato the generally accepted cover story for why Ren was incarcerated again - that Shido tried one more time to turn Ren into a scapegoat for several crimes.

“...Shit, man.” Hayato muttered, shaking his head. “I knew about some of that stuff, but hearin’ it all laid out like that…”

The two childhood friends stopped playing, sitting quietly to the music of the character selection screen.

“Yeah.” Ren said, smiling. “I got back into boxing because it felt fun, and like I was reclaiming something. I think my issue right now is that I’m just not sure where I want to go with it. I spent the year feeling like I was fighting for my life… Hell. Some of my friends lost loved ones last year because of everything that went down. It makes me realize how much everyone has to lose. I can’t help but think about how I might hurt someone, or how I might get hurt. Sometimes I think about what would happen if I get CTE or something, and Ann gets stuck taking care of me.”

“...Heh. You two are that serious, huh?”

“I’m going to marry that girl, Haya-kun.” Ren said, without hesitation.

“Seriously?! Man. That’s awesome--... Well. That’s what I’d say if I wasn’t so pissed at you.” Hayato said, unable to suppress his grin. He was quiet for a moment before speaking slowly. “Anyway, Ren-chan. It’s not like you’re tryin’ to pick a fight with someone who isn’t in the ring by choice. If you’re boxing fairly and the other guy gets hurt… Sayin’ it’s all on you, isn’t that just spittin’ in the face of all the trainin’ _they_ did? I mean… It’s kinda why I got so worked up in our fight the other day. It felt like you weren’t takin’ me seriously. And now you’re sayin’ that you basically started your life over again here in Tokyo, that you’ve cut all ties. It still pisses me off, y’know? I don’t give a shit if you go pro or not. But I thought that promise meant somethin’ to you, too.”

“Why does that bother you so much, Haya-kun? The other day, you mentioned something about having a tough year as well.”

Hayato sighed. He nodded at Ren’s controller; the two started playing again.

“...Tough couple years, actually. Maybe six months after we moved, my dad got laid off. Even though he was a good company man and moved for the job. My tuition, room, and board for school were paid for by my athletic scholarship, but I had to get a part-time job to help out at home. Mom got a job, and Dad did whatever odd jobs he could. It was tough, but we were makin’ it work.”

Hayato watched as his character, Sagat, ate a Dragon Punch.

“...Until about six months into first year.” Hayato shook his head. “Y’know those subway accidents and bus crashes?”

Of course, Ren was intimately aware of these. “Yeah, but what--...Oh, shit. Don’t tell me…”

“Things fell apart after Mom died, Ren-chan. Dad stopped workin’ and started drinkin’. He never got physical or abusive with me, but it’s like he’s had one of those mental shutdowns. He doesn’t do anything except drag himself out of his apartment to buy booze or food with what’s left of the life insurance money. I might have given up too, if it weren’t for some deal I made with a scrawny bastard on top of Coach Takeda’s place. It wasn’t much, but it gave me something to cling to when things were rough.”

Ren thought he had resolved his feelings about his friends abandoning him - he accepted that depending on their circumstances, not all of them may have been able to support him in the way they wanted; not all of them may have just walked away from him because of his conviction. He had chosen to leave his old life behind, and somehow assumed that everyone was fine with it.

And yet here was Hayato. Clearly, he valued their friendship to the point where the promise they made as middle schoolers stuck with him no matter _what_ people were saying about the ‘Fallen Star of Kamakura’, while Ren hadn’t really paid it a second thought. Of course, Ren had several other concerns at the time (like a corrupt politician, murderous Detective Prince, and a malevolent god) but he still felt some guilt. He sighed.

“Haya-kun, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you try to contact me? I could have helped, or at least we could have talked…”

Hayato blinked. He fumbled his controller, dropping it to the floor with a clatter. “Huh? Oh. Uh… I uh… didn’t want to bother you. Figured a big-shot Tokyo guy like you would have other things to worry about.”

Ren eyed Hayato suspiciously, instantly recognizing the Kansai boxer’s tells for when he was lying. “Really? How did you know I was sent to Tokyo?”

“Er… Your folks told me.”

“So you contacted my _parents_ , but not me?” Ren asked, suspiciously.

“...I uh…” Hayato looked thoroughly chagrined. “Um… After I moved, I kinda dropped my phone in a river tryin’ to take a selfie. And I didn’t have a smartphone at the time, so I lost all the contacts. And I didn’t write your email down anywhere.”

Ren’s jaw dropped. “...You’re serious. The guy who got all worked up over what I said in a magazine interview and hunted me down in Tokyo over a promise between friends _lost_ said friend’s contact info? If I was such an important person to you, shouldn’t you have memorized my number?!”

“Tch. Like I’d memorize the number of a _dude_.”

“You’re full of shit. How many girls have you actually _dated_ , Haya-kun?”

“Three.” Hayato replied quickly. Too quickly.

Ren scoffed. “That’s the universally accepted lie for _zero_. And you’re still rubbing the back of your neck, idiot. Your tells haven’t changed.”

“You’re the idiot! If it weren’t for Takahase, you would have flunked the entrance exams for your high school! I bet your grades are even _worse_ now, going up against all these brainiac Tokyo kids…”

“Top of the class, Haya-kun.”

“You’re full of shit.”

“How are _your_ grades?”

“...I’m smart enough to kick your ass, Ren-chan! You got a PS4 here, too?! You got Street Fighter V?!”

“Bring it.”

>>>

November 19, 2017 

_‘Hey, Ren-chan. Thanks for lettin’ me crash here. It was good, gettin’ that stuff off my chest.’_

_‘Yeah. Haya-kun, look. I should--’_

_‘Save it, Ren-chan. I don’t want an apology because I’m not gonna say sorry either. Let’s settle this properly. Because I’m in Kansai, I already know I’m gonna be on the opposite side of the Winter Cup tournament bracket from you. We’ll meet in the finals. If what I did to you in the sparring match pisses you off, then meet me there. I don’t care about the promise anymore. Just show me that the guy I believed in isn’t some useless boxer. Otherwise, I’ll put you down in front of a crowd of ten thousand and make sure you don’t dare to set foot in the ring again.’_

“You always knew how to make an exit, Haya-kun.” Ren muttered, brewing a cup of coffee for his only ‘customer’ of the day.

‘Customer’ because technically, you had to actually pay for your coffee to be a customer.

“Ah, thank you, Ren.” Yusuke said, accepting the cup. “Please put this on my tab.”

“Sure, Yusuke. By the way. You _do_ know how tabs work, right?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course.” Yusuke nodded. “I watched a television show that Haru recommended the other day. The protagonist appeared to drink as much as he wanted at an establishment by placing his drinks ‘on his tab’.”

Ren gave Yusuke a wry smile as he sat down across from Yusuke in the booth. There weren’t any other customers to attend to on this Sunday afternoon at Leblanc. “You _do_ know that a tab can be ‘called in’, right?”

“‘Called in’?”

“A ‘tab’ is a running bill. It means that eventually, the bartender gets to call in the full amount of all the drinks and food placed on the tab.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened. “...Oh!” He frowned thoughtfully, taking a sip of the coffee. “...In that case, please take this cup of coffee _off_ my tab.”

Ren shook his head, laughing. “You drink for free here anyway, Yusuke.” Ren smiled slyly. “So. A television show that Haru recommended, huh…?”

Ren jumped as Yusuke suddenly went from his usual placid look to groaning loudly. His face was contorted in pain, as if suffering the full weight of a crippling existential crisis or art block. To be fair, both weighed about the same to Yusuke.

“Yusuke?! What’s wrong?!”

Yusuke simply groaned again, bonking his forehead on the table several times. The coffee cup clattered lightly on its saucer. Eventually, he came to a halt, speaking in a voice muffled against the wood of the table. “Ren… things are not going well.”

“I gathered.” Ren said, dryly. “About Haru, or the exhibition?”

Yusuke sighed. “I was unable to overcome my current block. I withdrew from the exhibition.”

“Seriously?!” Ren said, shocked. “Are you going to be okay?”

Yusuke waved a hand lifelessly from his slumped position. “My teachers assure me all will be well. My graduation from Kosei is assured based on the work I turned in earlier in the year.”

“So you’re not worried about the exhibition.” Ren clarified.

“No.”

“So then, Haru?”

Yusuke moaned again, starting to bonk his head against the table once more.

“Stop, stop.” Ren said. He slid a clean, folded dish towel under Yusuke’s forehead, cushioning the thumps. “What’s the problem? I thought you went to see her back in October to clear things up. There hasn’t been any progress since then?”

“None at all.” Yusuke muttered, sitting up. “I simply cannot think of what to say, Ren. Every time I think about being direct, my words fail me.”

Ren’s eyes lit on _Sayuri_ , hanging on the wall of Leblanc. He glanced back at Yusuke. “So then, don’t use words.”

“Don’t use words? What do--...Of _course!”_

Ren reached across the table, quickly lifting the coffee cup off the surface and away from Yusuke.

“Ren? What are you doing?”

“You’re about to bolt out the door and run back to Kosei to paint.” Ren said. “And I didn’t feel like mopping up spilled coffee today.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You’re already halfway out of the booth and you have one arm in your coat sleeve.” Ren laughed.

Yusuke blinked. He really was halfway out of the booth and putting on his coat. He chuckled awkwardly as he sat back down. “My apologies, Ren… I did come here with the intention of spending some time with you. Who is this ‘Haya-kun’?”

“I forgot how sharp your hearing can be.” Ren said. “Hayato Miyazawa. An old friend of mine.”

“Ah. So a pleasant reunion, then?”

“Maybe more mixed.” Ren said, shaking his head. He related the story to Yusuke, from the promise, to the sparring match, to Ann’s interference in making the two childhood friends actually talk. “...And then before he left, he basically challenged me again to put up a good fight. He says he doesn’t care if I go pro, but ultimately that’s what it boils down to. Even if I don’t plan to make the jump, to be competitive with Haya-kun I have to fight like I will. I’m not sure I can do that.”

Yusuke nodded slowly. He then tilted his head, looking at Ren curiously. “It isn’t like you to be this indecisive, Ren. It seems to me that you’re overthinking this.”

“How do you mean?”

“In the same way that I best express myself in my painting, Ren… Your purest expression has always been in your fists. Why should you hold yourself back from being honest in your art? Do you not love boxing? Have you not dedicated hundreds of hours to it?” Yusuke asked, without a single hint of irony. “Would you expect me to throw down my brush meekly simply because another artist challenged me? Where’s your fighting spirit?!”

Ren was taken aback by Yusuke’s candor. He stared wordlessly at his friend.

Yusuke smiled slightly. “...I apologize, Ren. I have felt the weight of your fist personally, remember? When I tried to blackmail Ann into posing for me. I find it insulting that anyone would brush off your boxing as ‘light’ or ‘useless’. What was it that you told Shido’s shadow? Your fists are heavy. They bear not only the will of anyone who has supported you, but also the weight of your vanquished opponents. It seems to me that if you allow this old friend of yours to run roughshod over your boxing, you will also be allowing him to trample over your own experiences.”

Ren shook his head slowly, smiling. “It’s that simple, is it?”

“Perhaps even simpler.” Yusuke said. “You are the driven, ambitious leader of the Phantom Thieves. A powerful opponent stands before you. What more motivation do you need?”

>>>

November 26, 2017 

Shou sighed as he sat on the hardwood floor and stretched, watching Ren and Kaoru warm up on Sunday morning for their Winter Cup preliminary matches. “Man… I _still_ get tired just from watching those guys.”

Ren and Kaoru were standing side by side in the large gymnasium that was hosting this weekend’s Winter Cup preliminary/qualifying matches. The two boxers already had spots guaranteed in the Winter Cup due to their in-season performances and their victories at the Fall Nationals, but they were still fighting for favorable positions in the tournament bracket.

Eiji grinned, stretching alongside his fellow second-year and former delinquent. “Funny that a speedy outboxer complains about stamina all the time, Shou. Better look out. To even get in the tournament you have to win today, don’t you?”

Kaname gripped both of their scalps from behind, her fingers claw-like. “ _Both_ of you idiots need to win today. Focus!”

“Sorry, onee-san!” Shou protested.

“And stop calling me that! You’re older than I am!”

“Haaaaaai…” Shou said, exchanging grins with Eiji as Kaname let go. They watched her head over to Ren and Kaoru, giving them both feedback and last-minute advice on their opponents.

“Coach is really fired up lately, huh?” Eiji said. “As the captain and Kao-kun go, so goes the Demon Trainer.”

Shou watched the three as he rearranged his mussed-up pompadour. It was true. Ever since Ren lost to that visitor from Kyoto, the captain of Shujin Boxing seemed to be out of sorts, just relentlessly drilling technique and conditioning. Even though his training was impeccable, the usual life and confidence he brought to the gym was missing. And as for Kaoru, something seemed to be up between him and Kaname as well. Until last weekend, anyway. Something clearly happened.

The outboxer winced as he watched Kaoru demonstrate his step in and leading left hook. Shou had spent the entire week helping Kaoru prepare for the prelims. It made sense, after all. As a swarming/crowding infighter, Kaoru was Shou’s most difficult type of boxer to handle. And Shou had enough mid-range power to be Kaoru’s most troublesome type as well. But that was in theory. In reality, Kaoru’s body blows now felt like they tore a chunk out of you rather than just slowly building up damage over time. And his head shots felt like getting hit with a brick. Whatever Kaoru was doing on his own, his threat level and power had increased substantially. And there was something else - something that triggered Shou’s instinct for danger even outside of Kaoru’s usual range. He hadn’t pulled it out during his first match yesterday, but there was a sense that the featherweight was looking for an opportunity.

And as for Ren, the cloud hanging over their ‘aniki’ seemed to be lifting. He was approachable, confident, and lively again. Both Eiji and Shou grimaced at that - for whatever reason, he had started putting himself through grueling practices, to the point where the third-year could barely speak or think. Of course, the rest of the club felt obliged to try and keep up. Exhaustion was high, but so was team spirit.

Surprisingly, Kaname approved - though she did ensure everyone had a full two days of rest prior to these preliminary matches. Of the three of them, she seemed the most eager to see what Ren and Kaoru would show her. She was even more fired up for this qualifier than the boxers were. Shou’s ‘twin’ was right - as Ren and Kaoru went, so did Kaname.

Shou glanced at Eiji. He flashed a grin at his friend. “Hey.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll accept the Captain, but we sure as hell aren’t going to lose to the rookie, are we?”

“Hell no! Let’s give onee-san something to be proud of!--ouch!” A rolled up cloth hand wrap nailed Eiji in the forehead. “I mean… Let’s give the _Coach_ something to be proud of.”

Shou nodded, as Kaname returned to speaking to Ren and Kaoru. He leaned over, whispering to Eiji. “Coach-nee-san.”

>>>

“You’re behind, Iwai.” Kaname said, as she wiped sweat out of his eyes. “But there’s one round left, and the point difference isn’t that big. Keep doing what you’re doing. Concentrate on your step-in and weaving. He’s feeling the pressure.”

Shou nodded; he already won his match for the day, so he was serving as the second member of Kaoru’s corner team. “You got this, rookie! Just like Coach says.”

The bell rang; Kaname watched as Kaoru advanced. His opponent, a second-year boxer with a close-shaven head, expertly started performing hit-and-run attacks on the infighter.

“Shit… This guy’s serious. He’s really worked on his stamina, and he’s scouted Iwai.” Kaname murmured.

“How can you tell?” Shou asked.

“Look at how he retreats. He’s watched how Kaoru’s learned to angle people off and take advantage of the outboxer’s tendency to circle to the left while jabbing. So instead of circling, he darts in and out and never back steps into a corner. He never intended to take this by KO.” Kaname said. “I thought someone would try this on Iwai. It’s why I worked his step-in so much. But I didn’t think anyone would have the footspeed and stamina to pull this off for three rounds. Hopefully, Iwai will wear him down before it’s over…”

Shou frowned, watching closely. “...Coach, doesn’t it look like Kao-kun’s looking for something? He could have jumped in, just there.”

Kaname swore. “He’s getting hesitant. Iwai! What are you doing!? You need to take that chance!”

Iwai was staying in mid-range, taking jabs over his shield-like guard. He was yielding points slowly but surely as his agile opponent widened the gap.

“You’re out of range! You’ll…” Kaname trailed off. The _shape_ of his stance and guard were becoming familiar to her.

“Ugh. It gives me the creeps, even from the side.” Shou muttered.

“What does, Aikawa?” Kaname said, glancing at the second-year.

“It’s like Kao-kun’s just waiting to nail him with something, even though he looks too far away to do anything.” Shou said. “I think he’s trying to copy a video I saw him watch, once. Floyd something--”

“Patterson!” Kaname shouted, slamming her palms on the mat in excitement and understanding. Her eyes snapped back to the ring, instantly evaluating the range and stance of Kaoru’s opponent. “IWAI! DO IT NOW! SLIP LEFT AND KNOCK HIS ASS DOWN!”

Kaname didn’t know if Kaoru heard her.

But he certainly executed.

At the next jab, Kaoru simultaneously bobbed under it and slipped to the outside. He lowered his hips and left hand; his weight shifted to his left leg as his muscles tensed, ready to spring forward.

His opponent started to backstep and raise his guard, smirking slightly. No matter how fast Kaoru’s step-in was, he couldn’t close the distance and launch an attack in time to get around his high-level footwork.

Kaoru launched himself forward in an explosive mid-range punch, closing the distance in a single leap as he swung his left arm in a vicious shovel hook aimed at his opponent’s jaw. The short featherweight boxer bounded forward like a gazelle.

“Holy--!” His opponent threw himself back - the punch just barely clipped his chin, but the force of it still made his head turn at the neck. He stumbled as he frantically backstepped.

“What the _fuck_ was that?!” Shou shouted, briefly drawing the ire of the ref.

“Patterson’s Gazelle Punch.” Kaname said, with a surprised but proud smile. “So that’s what he’s been working on…”

“Holy _crap_.” Shou muttered. “That gave me chills. Too bad he missed. Now we’re back to square one.”

“Not really, Aikawa. Where’s Iwai’s opponent standing?”

“...Oh. He’s fucked.” Shou grinned.

Kaoru’s opponent had his back to the ringpost. In his frantic retreat from the explosive, leaping punch, he had cornered himself. By the time he realized the danger, it was too late. Kaoru was already in his ideal distance, slamming hooks and uppercuts into the other boxer’s body, letting out three rounds of frustration from the hit-and-run tactics. The bell rang as the referee called a TKO.

“Almost feel sorry for him.” Shou said, shaking his head. “He just took him apart-- Coach?”

Kaname was already dragging Kaoru out of the ring, excitedly gesturing and demonstrating what she wanted him to do next time. Kaoru nodded earnestly despite his tiredness. He lowered his hips into the starting stance for the Gazelle Punch. Kaname shook her head, making a miniscule adjustment to his back foot, and then indicating a punch aimed at the temple rather than the jaw.

Shou laughed. He threw a towel over Kaoru’s shoulder. “Guess I lost in terms of excitement after all. Good one, Kao-kun.”

Kaoru grinned. “Aheh. I missed, though.”

Kaname shook her head, glancing around at coaches and boxers from other teams. They had taken note of Kaoru’s new mid-range weapon. “Did the job though, Iwai. You’re not ‘just’ a close range fighter anymore. They’ll have a harder time coming up with a way to deal with you. Did you come up with this just to take on Kobayashi?”

“...Heh. Yeah, a little.” Kaoru said, sheepishly.

“Good job, Iwai.” Kaname said. “It was time well spent… Now, we should be able to make it in time for Renpai’s fight--”

Shocked cheers and applause roared from the opposite side of the gym. Startled, the three members of Shujin Boxing turned to look at the ring where Ren _was_ fighting. He stood there, the ref raising his hand in victory. Kawakami and Shinoda, serving as Ren’s corner, stared blankly at the teen’s brilliant grin. Only thirty seconds had elapsed in the first round.

“...Amamiya-senpai…?” Kaoru mumbled.

“The hell happened?” Shou said, his eyes wide.

Kaname watched as Ren exited the ring. There was a certain swagger and spring in his step, something she hadn’t really seen since his last fight before his arrest in Kamakura. The pint-sized trainer grinned fiercely.

“Wildcard’s back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaname is such a daddy's girl that I can't even. Hope Shinji doesn't ever disapprove of Kaoru outright. Shinji is basically old man/grumpy version of Ren/Hayato/any other boxing idiot. Nice, upright guy, but has zeeeero idea how to handle his little girl dating a boy. 
> 
> Haha. 'Bigger hitting mitts'.
> 
> The inter-high tournament format/circuit for boxing I describe here is largely fictional and based off a combination of basketball/volleyball and what little I can find about boxing. As you can imagine, boxing isn't a huge sport in Japan compared to baseball/basketball/volleyball, so English news articles are tough to find. In high school/amateur boxing though, tournaments do span a few days and fighters actually do go multiple times. Amateur boxing tends to be not as hard on the body as pro - refs are much faster to call a TKO when it looks like one side is gonna get overwhelmed, particularly when it's youth matches.
> 
> For some reason, I felt it was necessary to explain how Shujin Boxing shot to the top in terms of tournament wins. It's a perfect storm situation, as explained. If this story were focused on Shujin and not Ren/Ann, I'd probably get into a transition period where the team struggles after the departure of the Captain. Kaname's the real backbone, though. SBC is in for a tough time when she graduates. Unless she finds a successor...
> 
> 'I should move to Tokyo. Models love their boxers here…' Dense AF.
> 
> Neither Ren nor Hayato are really that immature on their own, as I've (hopefully) shown. Ren is the Ren you've all gotten to know over GtD and GtD:XR, and Hayato's put-together enough that he can go to a prestigious sports-oriented school in Kyoto while trying to take care of his dad. But they bring out the worst (best?) in each other.
> 
> Sakki/intent - In my kendo days, we were always taught to strike with intention. You're cutting to kill - not to say you're trying to break your shinai in half over someone's head, that's crap technique. My sensei used to say that if I was doing it right, if he replaced the shinai in my hands with an actual sword, the motions should still cut off wrists/split heads. Same thing when we were practicing kata - there's a difference between going through the motions and actually striking with intent. Kata are done without armor and with oak bokken rather than shinai. With my favorite partner in practice, we cut with the intention of *cutting*. Oddly enough, not because we were trying to kill each other - but because we trusted each other to the point where we knew we could handle whatever each other had to show.
> 
> Hayato and Ren had that same level of trust.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Cup, the final high school tournament of Ren's life, finally begins.
> 
> Rapid update this time because of a solid outline. Bit more of a delay until the next, depending on how much I decide to cram into the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitions/Reminders:
> 
> Boxing numbering system: Punches are all numbered/labelled. 1 = Jab 2 = Straight 3 = Hook 4 = Right hook 5 = Left upper 6 = Right upper  
> Slip: Dodging a punch, generally moving to the side  
> Apron (boxing): edge of the ring  
>  _Haya-ku_ : Japanese, 'hurry' or 'faster'. Ren's nickname for Hayato, Haya-kun, is a play off of this.  
> Boxer-puncher: Boxer refers to the technician type of fighter (used interchangeable with outboxer) who generally tries to win on points/decision. Puncher refers to literally a puncher, someone who relies on powerful punches and tries to win on KO.  
> Decision victory: Boxing is scored on a point system by judges for connected punches etc. You don't always win by knocking someone out.  
> KO: Knockout. Counted out over ten seconds  
> TKO: Technical knockout. Ref ends the match because there's no way one guy is getting back up/concerns about safety/clear that one fighter can't continue. Throwing in the towel by one corner also results in a TKO  
> Chopping right: Overhand right, less straight on and comes at you more from above/diagonally.  
> 'Fight-Oh!': Common way of cheering on athletes across many sports in Japanese culture. Not just an anime thing, did this in my kendo days also.  
> Tapering: Prior to major tournaments and competitions in any sport, training usually ramps down in terms of volume to ensure that athletes peak at the right time. Usually intensity remains the same but training time goes down dramatically. Both volume and intensity drop the closer you get.  
>  _senshu_ : Honorific given to athletes  
>  _shikishi_ : Autograph board  
> chin (boxing): Ability to take a punch  
>  _shinkansen_ : bullet train

March 29, 2012 

“Come on, kid! Slip One-six!” Shinji shouted. His right hitting mitt shot out in a straight.

His boxer slipped to the outside of the punch, sending a jab over Shinji Takeda’s right shoulder and into his waiting left mitt. Half a breath later, a right uppercut to the body smacked into the padded armor worn by the head coach of Takeda Boxing.

“One-One-Two!” Two quick smacks against the mitt, followed by a harder, more solid sound.

“One-Two-Three-Two!” A jab to measure the distance was followed by a hard straight to stagger, a left hook to take advantage, and then another straight to cover the retreat.

Gradually, Shinji stopped calling the numbers, instead just presenting targets. His boxer - a boy no more than twelve years old with black hair and gunmetal blue eyes, enthusiastically hammered his fists into the mitts. Shinji stepped back, holding up his hands.

“Hurry it up, Miyazawa!” Shinji shouted. “Finish!”

Ren, leaning on the apron at ringside, grinned impishly. “Yeah, Haya-kun! _Haya-ku!_ ”

Hayato flinched, turning to Ren. “That’s _not_ funny, Ren-chan! No matter how many times you say it!--Ouch!”

Shinji lightly smacked Hayato’s headgear with his mitt. “Don’t take your eye off your opponent, kid.”

Hayato pouted, glaring at Ren. “Then I should keep looking at Ren-chan, shouldn’t I?”

“Ehehe.” Ren grinned. He then flinched himself as Kaname coughed lightly, standing behind him.

“No one told you that you could slack off! Now you owe your senpai six more rounds of shadow boxing.” Kaname huffed.

“Seriously, Kana-chan?”

“Kaname- _senpai_.” Kaname said, sternly. Her expression shifted into a cute smile as she clasped her hands behind her back and tossed her long, violet ponytail. She looked down at the floor in what she felt was an appropriate demure gaze. “Or if you don’t want to do shadow boxing, I’ll also take a kiss.”

When she looked up, Ren was already in front of the mirror, shadow boxing. Hayato was beside him doing the same.

Kaname’s eyebrow twitched. “ _Jerks!_ ” She charged at the two.

Shinji shook his head, hiding his little smile as the three youngest members of Takeda Boxing started chasing each other around the gym. He noted proudly that even in their roughhousing, the three stayed clear of any dangerous equipment or other boxers.

“Good afternoon, Coach.”

Shinji turned to the door. He nodded in greeting to the man standing there. “Afternoon, Miyazawa-san. Here to pick up Hayato, or his partner-in-crime, too?”

“Just Hayato.” Hayanari Miyazawa smiled. He looked over at his son, who was currently helping restrain Ren for Kaname. “Probably for the best. Looks like you two are ‘enemies’ today, eh, Hayato?”

“Oyaji!” Hayato released Ren’s arms, running over to his father.

Hayanari sighed. “ _‘_ Oyaji’...?”

“That’s what Ren-chan calls _his_ dad!”

Ren bounded up beside Hayato, nodding enthusiastically. “Mmhm!--Ouch!”

Shinji lightly chopped the back of Ren’s head, sighing. “Sorry, Miyazawa-san.”

Hayanari laughed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. So, Hayato. What did you learn today?”

Hayato started chattering excitedly as he and his father left the gym. “...And then we did mitts with all the combinations at the end! It was awesome! Can I show you at home after dinner?!”

Hayanari laughed as they got into his car, a well-maintained white Toyota Corolla. “Of course. I love seeing you box, Hayato.”

>>>

December 3, 2017 

Hayato walked to his father’s apartment in Nishinari for his weekly visit. It was early in the evening, around sunset. He glanced at the rusted-out remains of a compact sedan parked on the road in front of the building. There were some spots of dirty paint that indicated the car might have been white, once. The windows were broken and the tires were flat. It was barely possible to tell what the original make and model of the car was anymore, if not for the shape of Toyota’s three overlapping ellipses visible through the rust on the trunk.

The high school boxer entered the apartment. He started his usual routine by ensuring that his father, who was slumped in his customary position in front of the Japanese style table, was still alive. He then cleaned and took out the accumulation of beer cans and cigarette butts. He didn’t leave this time, though. Instead, he slid a disc into the ancient DVD player hooked up to the television and took a seat at the table with Hayanari.

“Oyaji… Thought you’d like to see this. Remember Ren-chan? He’s still fightin’. He’s in Tokyo now, though. Apparently this is footage of his last preliminary fight before the Winter Cup.”

The older Miyazawa didn’t respond beyond opening his eyes a little at his son’s voice, remaining slumped on the table with his forearms for a pillow.

Hayato hit play; the screen flickered on to reveal a recording of the local television station that covered the Tokyo prefecture preliminaries. Two people sat at ringside - a middle-aged commentator from the television station, and Mari Minoru.

“And welcome back to the Winter Cup Preliminaries, Tokyo Prefecture! It’s the final day of the qualifying matches that have taken place over the past month, and we’ve already had some great matches! Up next are two boxers from the welterweight division. In the blue corner, we have Akitake Aratani out of Kasai Minami High. He weighs in at 68 kilograms and is 178 centimetres tall. He comes up against the winner of the Fall Nationals for the welterweight division, Ren Amamiya from Shujin Academy. We just watched his featherweight kouhai Kaoru Iwai win an impressive victory of his own. Amamiya-senshu weighs in at 66 kilograms and stands at 180 centimetres. Minoru-san, your thoughts?”

Mari looked up at the camera. To Hayato’s eye, the attractive red-head looked somewhat annoyed at the fact that she had to provide color commentary.

“Aratani is a third-year boxer known for his aggressive style. Each of his punches has knockout power. It’ll be interesting to see how Amamiya handles him. As we’ve seen throughout the season, the Shujin captain has been quite adaptive with a hybrid boxer-puncher style. In his first preliminary match yesterday, we weren’t able to see much, unfortunately.”

Hayato recalled Aratani’s name. He smiled slightly. _‘This lady doesn’t want to be there, but she’s being kind. Aratani wastes a lot of energy on his haymakers.’_

The commentator nodded. “Indeed. A shame that his opponent twisted his ankle so early in the match.”

“Yes. It was a little unusual. Amamiya’s first opponent seemed to perform an almost panicked backstep from a feint, only to trip over his own feet and sprain his ankle.”

Hayato blinked. _‘...What?’_ He didn’t have time to consider the implications of that, though - the bell rang, signifying the start of the match.

“And here we go. Amamiya advances -- Oh my! A flurry of lefts! Is this Amamiya’s trademark ‘Flicker’ Jab?”

“That’s right. It’s unusual to see him come out so aggressively. Usually Amamiya feels his opponent out more. This could be part of a strategy to bait out a wild swing from Aratani--Holy!”

A resonating smack sounded out as Ren’s overhand chopping right sliced down immediately after a jab in the most basic of all boxing combinations: the one-two.

Aratani dropped to a knee, his eyes wide with shock.

The ref started counting. “One! Two!”

Aratani looked up. “I’m fine! I’m fine, it barely touched me!”

“Five! Six!”

Hayato shook his head. “You ain’t gettin’ up from that, man.” His trained eyes saw what happened. His old friend’s chopping right sliced in with the same terrifying force he hadn’t seen during their sparring match, but with a chilling new precision. Ren’s glove struck Aratani’s chin perfectly. Even if Aratani _felt_ okay, his legs wouldn’t work. 

“Stop counting!”

“Eight!”

Aratani staggered to his feet. His knees shook; he stumbled to the ropes. Ren leaned back against the ringpost in a neutral corner. To Hayato’s eyes, his old friend wasn’t just looking at his opponent - he was studying him. It was mildly unnerving.

The bell rang; the referee waved his arms as Ren raised a fist to the crowd. The boxer then turned to glance at a camera, the faintest beginnings of a smirk on his face. 

Hayato grinned. “...Heh. About as good as sending a note with ‘challenge’ written on it, Ren-chan. I can’t wait.”

He turned to look at his father - the man who looked older than his years wasn’t watching the screen at all. Hayato’s smile faded as he stood. It was too much to hope for, apparently.

“...See you, oyaji.” Hayato mumbled. “The Winter Cup isn’t until the 20th… I’ll… I’ll say hi to Ren-chan for you.”

Hayato locked the door, sighing bitterly as he looked again at the rusted out car. _‘...Not like he’d be able to drive his ass there anyway.’_

>>>

December 6, 2017 

It was Wednesday after school. A group of students were formed up at the door to Shujin’s boxing gym; three more groups were crowded around the windows. All watched with rapt attention as the boxing team finished up their practice. All the team members were drenched in sweat, even the six fighters who hadn’t earned the right to appear at the Winter Cup Tournament. They worked hard in solidarity with Ren, Kaoru, Shou, and Eiji.

The four entrants fired combinations into hitting mitts held by four of their teammates, responding instantly to the presented targets.

Kaname’s voice pierced the din of leather gloves smacking against padded mitts.

“Last drill, Shujin!” Kaname yelled, smacking her shinai against one of the heavy bags at Shujin’s boxing gym. “Two weeks to the tournament! Heavy bag, three rounds! Give it all you got! Leave it all on the floor!”

The four Shujin entrants turned in unison and sprinted to the other side of the gym, laying into the four waiting bags. Each of them was supported by another member of the team - two who had been there since sign-ups, and two more who’d just signed on.

All four fighters moved and punched to their own styles - Eiji’s jabs and straights reverberated through the bag, the brawler making the first-year supporting it from the other side wince. Shou moved in semicircles, creating a staccato rhythm with his sharp jabs and dizzying footwork.

As the third round started, the two second-years’ stamina started to flag. At least, until two voices rang out from the crowd.

“Kyaa~ Aikawa-senpai! Fight-oh!”

“Kimura-san, you can do it!”

The two paused _briefly_ before letting loose with simultaneous _kiai_ , striking combinations with even more vigor than before.

The second-year student holding Kaoru’s heavy bag swore, getting lifted off his feet by the leaping shovel hook that was the featherweight’s Gazelle Punch. He barely had time to recover as Kaoru followed up with hooks and uppercuts, making the chains suspending the bag rattle violently.

As for Shujin’s captain, his rhythm and focus remained steady for the first two rounds. But when Kaname called the final three minute round, his speed and power picked up dramatically. The sounds of his gloves striking the bag had a certain sharpness that was clear over the other three boxers. Flicker jabs, overhand rights, and straights slammed into the bag.

Ren’s partner braced for a final chopping right, swearing as the impact nearly made him lose his grip on the bag. He then really did lose his grip as almost simultaneously, Ren’s left hand came up in the three-quarter smash, sending the bag swinging up and to the right.

“Good job.” Shinoda said, as Kaname handed out bottles of water. “I’m sure Kaname-chan’s told you already, but today’s the last training session with this level of intensity until the tournament. We’re now starting a two week taper. From here on out, you’ll all be expected to rest up. No more volume training; you’ll focus on visualizations and punch-specific exercises. For _some_ of you, that’s going to be difficult to handle.”

Kaname coughed, eyeing Ren and Kaoru. Kaoru smiled awkwardly; Ren chuckled.

“Others… I’m sure you’ll manage.” Shinoda said, trying not to laugh as Shou and Eiji craned their necks to look at the spectators at the windows and door.

“Hey! Idiot twins!” Kaname smacked her shinai against her palm, an evil grin on her face. “If you’re looking for the girls who called your names…”

She pointed to the door. Kawakami stood there, handing two girls each a bribe purchased from the co-op earlier in the day - the hard to obtain melon bread.

Shou and Eiji sighed.

“That’s just _mean,_ onee-san.”

“Yeah.” Shou said. He laughed. “Though, we can always count on you for new and interesting motivation, can’t we?”

“Heh. Speaking of which.” As Shinoda dismissed the boxers, Kaname approached the crowd of students at the door. They started shrinking back instinctively at her approach. The girls in front had nowhere to run. One of them raised her hands placatingly.

“Ah… Takeda-san! Sorry. Were we too loud?”

“Not at all.” Kaname said. “I was thinking, though. If you all like cheering, _Amamiya-senpai_ and _Iwai-kun_ would really appreciate your help with something…”

>>>

“Come on, Arima! Get after it!” Coach Yutaka Kubo shouted, clapping his hands. The ten Winter Cup entrants for Arima Senior High School picked up their pace, aiming to finish strong as they worked the heavy bags in the large boxing gym on the sports-oriented prep school’s campus. 

The buzzer sounded for the end of the third round. All but one of the boxers stopped. The captain of the Arima Boxing Team kept going, to no one’s surprise.

His lefts struck the bag as if they were being fired from a gun. He randomly varied the degree of pullback after each jab and yet somehow kept them all sharp. It became difficult for the junior member holding the heavy bag for Hayato to anticipate the punches due to the variable timing. As the extra minute wore down, Hayato started laying into the heavy bag with one-twos. The ‘two’ of the combinations generated an odd sound - a sharp smack of leather against leather, but followed by something like a light scrape, like a hand quickly sweeping across finished wood. 

Hayato landed a final punch just before Kubo stepped in to make him stop.

“Easy, Miyazawa.” Kubo said, shaking his head. “I know you want to really establish a good feel for it, but you can’t go and break your hand two weeks before--... Let me see your glove.”

Hayato flashed a grin. He tossed his right glove to the coach.

Kubo inspected the boxing glove. Right over the primary point of impact, a c-shaped tear was ripped into the leather. He looked back up at Hayato. “Is this…”

Hayato nodded. “I’ve got it, Coach. I got the feel for it. Ren-chan’s gonna be _really_ surprised when I feed him this one--Oof!”

Kubo threw the damaged glove into Hayato’s face. “What I was _going_ to say, Miyazawa, was ‘is this the fourth glove you’ve wrecked?’ Honestly. You had a feel for the punch last week. How many gloves do you have to ruin?”

Arima’s captain just shrugged. He held up his left hand. This glove showed a similar tear over the knuckles. “Enough to make sure I can do it with the left, too.”

“...Alright. _Now_ I’m impressed.”

>>>

December 19, 2017 

“No formal practice today.” Kaname said, looking at the assembled boxers. They all stood in front of the ring; she stood with her back to the apron alongside Shinoda and Kawakami. “The only instructions I have for all of you is to go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

Kawakami nodded, giving the team an encouraging smile. “That goes for the eight of you that aren’t going to be competing, too. I’m still a beginner when it comes to boxing, but I know that our four fighters can only benefit from your energetic support.”

“For all of you, this is uncharted territory. Even our captain hasn’t competed in the Winter Cup before.” Shinoda said, his arms crossed over his barrel chest. “But that’s been the story of this entire year. What you’ve all accomplished in the _first year_ of this club is already remarkable. Along with the track and volleyball teams, you’ve brought sports at Shujin back from the brink. So I’m not going to say something like ‘Do it for your school’s pride’ or ‘Let’s show them that Shujiin’s back’. You’ve already done that. Instead, I’m going to give you this as your rallying cry. This banner will be hanging from the upper deck at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.”

Shinoda nodded to Kawakami - the two adults grabbed a folded up banner from underneath the ring. Between them, they unfurled the heavy black cloth - there was a single phrase painted in crimson:

一期一会

“One life. One encounter. This is how I want you all to approach tomorrow. Treat every fight… every round… every _punch_ like it’s going to be your last.” Shinoda continued. “It’s what Shin-chan--...Coach Takeda would say. Manager Takeda? Do you have anything more to say?”

Kaname was helping Kawakami fold up the banner again. She paused as Shinoda took over for her. She looked sternly at the group.

“Yeah. We’re all meeting here tomorrow at 0700 sharp. If you _dare_ to be late and we have to leave you behind, I’ve programmed directions to the gymnasium into your phones and sent backups to your email accounts.” Kaname said. “Also, don’t forget to bring a sweater or jacket to stay warm while waiting for your fight. Don’t bring junk food. We already have bentos prepared.”

Kawakami blinked, smiling awkwardly. “Uh, Takeda-san. I think Coach Shinoda was more wondering if you had anything encouraging to say…?”

Kaname raised an eyebrow imperiously. She then shrugged, scoffing. “Don’t need to. They’re all Takeda boxers.”

There was a moment of silence as that sunk in. By now, the group knew that to Kaname, that was the highest praise possible.

“... _Onee-san!”_

“We love you!”

“Whatever, idiots.” Kaname said, with a small, proud smile. “Go home and sleep.”

“Ah… Wait. Hold on, Coach.” Eiji said, standing up with Shou. “We have an announcement too. Well… It’s really just an announcement to the coaching staff. All the boxers were in on this.”

Shou walked over to the small storage room, pulling out a cardboard box. “We’re not really a ‘uniform’ sport… I mean, we have to wear either the red or blue jerseys based on whichever corner we get assigned to. But between fights, if we need a jacket to stay warm… Why not do it in _style_?”

He opened the box, pulling out a hooded athletic jacket. He held it up by the shoulders, grinning proudly. It was a striking design - it was black save for the red zipper and a single stripe running down each flank. Shujin’s crest adorned the left breast. Shou turned the jacket to show the team the back - ‘Shujin Boxing’ was written across the top in white, with the boxer’s name just below it. In this case, ‘Amamiya’. Over the deltoid on each sleeve was the number ‘2’ in white.

The team gasped or shouted their approval. They knew this was coming, but they didn’t know they would look so _good._

Shou grinned. “I know, right? There’s a few more things, though… The Phantom Thief logo’s actually printed inside the jacket, just behind the Shujin crest on the front. I wanted to put it on the outside, but I figured it might get us into some kinda trouble. It didn’t feel right leaving it out, though. I mean… If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be a club, right?”

Kawakami frowned thoughtfully. “Ah, Kimura-kun. Why is Amamiya-kun’s jacket number ‘2’? Shouldn’t the captain be ‘1’?”

“Ah, right. Before boxing, you weren’t really involved in any school sports, right sensei? Apparently before Kamoshida got here and screwed everything up, the tradition was that no one on any of Shujin’s teams wore ‘1’. It’s meant to symbolize that no single player is more important than the team.” Eiji explained.

Shou gave the jacket to Ren.

Ren smiled, shaking his head. “I knew this was going to be good, but you guys really outdid yourselves on the design.”

The twins quickly distributed the jackets; the team indeed looked sharp.

Kaoru frowned. “Why did I get ‘22’?” 

“Because we couldn’t do 0.2 for ‘Minimiya’.” Eiji quipped.

Despite the teasing, Kaoru looked extremely pleased at that.

Ren glanced at Shou and Eiji’s jackets. He rolled his eyes. “...Oh, seriously, guys?”

Shou grinned. “Hell yes. Come on, Eiji. It’s _Shou_ -time.”

The two stood back to back, striking a pose. Shou was number 6; Eiji was 9. When the two stood back to back, the numbers on their shoulders read ‘69’.

“Heh. Nice.” Ren said, reflexively.

Kaname sighed. “Did you guys dip into club funds for this? We could have had another heavy bag, or put it towards more gloves and mitts… Kawakami-sensei, Coach Shinoda. Do you have anything to say--...”

Kawakami and Shinoda were both flustered as they were presented with jackets of their own. In place of the numbers on the shoulders, they each had jackets with ‘C’ instead, for ‘coach’.

Kaname sighed again. “Fine. If that’s done, you should all get home.”

“Not _quite_ done, onee-san.” Eiji held up the last jacket. This one was clearly Kaname’s size, and had ‘Takeda’ written on the back. Her jacket was numbered ‘1’.

Kaname stared for a moment before accepting the jacket. She spoke with a carefully neutral expression. “I thought you just said Shujin teams don’t use the number 1?”

Ren smiled. “ _Players_ don’t wear number 1, Kana-chan. No single boxer is more important than the team, it’s true. But what you’ve done for us this year speaks for itself. You’re the backbone of this team. That’s become even more clear with the Winter Cup coming up.”

Shou nodded. “Yep. Kao-kun insisted, but we all agreed.”

Kaoru startled. “Er… well. Yeah. I thought it was obvious.”

“...Right.” Kaname said, stiffly. “Well. If you all aren’t going to go home, I will. I have to be up earlier than the rest of you. Kimura, Aikawa. You’re in charge of cleanup since you kept us over time.”

She swiftly left the gym, clutching the jacket to her chest.

Shou and Eiji grinned at each other; they were already starting to clean up. There wasn’t much to do, given that there was no actual practice today. Ren put a hand on Kaoru’s shoulder, stopping him before he could start helping.

“You know, Kaoru. It looks like Kana-chan forgot her bag.” Ren said, nodding at the Shujin bag sitting by the ring. “Why don’t you bring it to her?”

>>>

Kaoru found Kaname at the shoe lockers. She was facing her locker, still holding onto the jacket.

“Kana-chan? Are you…?”

Kaname startled slightly. She didn’t turn around though, nor did she speak.

“ It was a bit much, wasn’t it? It’s not like we needed the jackets.” Kaoru said, awkwardly. “We probably should have run it by you first--”

“--Was it really you?” Kaname asked, her voice clipped.

“I’m sorry?” Kaoru asked.

“Were you really the one who insisted on this?” Without turning around, she raised a sleeve of the jacket, indicating the white ‘1’ on the shoulder.

“Y-yeah. I was. ...Ah!”

In a flash, he was being hugged as Kaname tried to squeeze the life out of him with one arm, the other still holding onto the jacket like it was something precious. He yelped in surprise and instinctively started to look down at her. Her small hand shot up, covering his eyes and forcing his face to look up and away.

“Don’t look!”

“I… why? Kana-chan, I can’t see anyway when your hand’s like… that…”

He trailed off as he realized that Kaname had her face buried against the front of his new jacket. She spoke in a muffled, quivering voice.

“I keep crying, and I look ridiculous, and I don’t want you to see me looking like this. I’m an ugly crier.” Kaname mumbled. “This is stupid. I’m so happy about this stupid jacket that I don’t know what to do. It’s not just what you said and what you think. It’s Renpai, and the Idiot Twins, and all the beginners. I’m _me_. I’ve never tried to hide my personality and at first I only joined this club for Renpai. But you all still… You all…”

Kaoru’s startled expression softened to a little smile. His arms, held up in shock, relaxed to return Kaname’s embrace.

“Like I said. I think it’s just become pretty obvious how much you do for all of us. We all see you, Kana-chan. I lo… I mean, we all love you for who you are.”

After a long pause, Kaname took her hand away from Kaoru’s eyes. 

“You can look. But if you make fun of me, I’ll kill you.”

Kaoru looked. Kaname wasn’t looking up at him; the side of her face still rested against his chest. She sniffled lightly. Her green eyes were downturned, and an embarrassed blush decorated her delicate features.

“...This was a mistake, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I shouldn't have looked."

Kaname’s eyes flashed as she snapped her gaze up to glare at Kaoru. “I _told_ you not to make fun of… Mm..!”

Kaoru only gave her a brief moment to gasp before he kissed her. Her lips were soft, as usual. But the feeling was different. Her body stiffened up for a moment before seeming to just _melt_ against him in a way that made him feel weak at the knees. One of her hands still held the jacket, but the other just rested on his chest, pressing lightly over his racing heart.

As they parted, Kaoru’s head swam. _‘How was that so different…?’_

As if reading his mind, Kaname spoke quietly, in a pleased but uncharacteristically shy voice. “...Kaoru… That’s the first time _you_ kissed _me_.”

That was it. All the previous times, Kaname made the first move. Probably because Kaoru’s sense of self-preservation recognized that if he ever caught her at a bad time, it could mean a knockout punch. It seemed like his fears were unfounded, though. At least when they were alone.

“Ne, Kana-chan?”

“Mm?”

“Can we make another bet?”

Kaname just nodded a little, tracing little circles over Kaoru’s heart. “What are the terms?”

“Uhm… If I win at the Winter Cup, can we go out on Christmas Eve?” Kaoru asked, inwardly cringing at how lame that sounded. He was already her boyfriend, after all.

“You know the finals happen _on_ Christmas Eve, don’t you?”

“Ah. Right. In that case…”

She interrupted him with a quick kiss and a stern look. “...In that case, you’d better win without taking too much damage. I don’t want to spend a Christmas Eve date looking after an injured boxer. Okay?”

“Heh. Right.”

>>>

“And then he said, ‘If I win at the Winter Cup, can we go out on Christmas Eve?’” Ren said, grinning from his seat at the kitchen island at the Takamaki residence. “It was sort of lame, but Kana-chan seemed to like it.”

“I can’t believe you actually followed him and eavesdropped, Wildcard.” Ann said, waving a wooden spoon at her boyfriend in admonishment. “And _I_ think it’s really cute.”

“I was a little worried about how Kana-chan ran off.” Ren shrugged. He watched as Ann turned back to the stove. She was wearing her blue button-down blouse and white skirt that made up one of her casual winter outfits. The baseball jacket had been exchanged for a pink apron, though. And more importantly, the black tights she normally wore under the skirt were traded in for nothing at all. “And for the record, I think _you’re_ really cute.”

“Uh huh.” Ann returned the spoon and her attention to the pan. “So we’re already at that part of the evening?”

“Which part?”

Ann smirked, hearing Ren slide off his bar stool. “The part of the evening where you make some pretense to come up behind me…?”

She kept stirring the simmering rice even as she felt his hand on her hip and heard his voice at her ear. She let out a little sigh as he kissed her earlobe, his voice low and seductive.

“Right… So the pretense in this case is me looking over your shoulder to check on how dinner’s coming along.” Ren turned his attention to the graceful curve of her neck, kissing and nuzzling. His arms slipped around her waist.

“Mm… maybe. And then I fall for your charms, and just… lose myself in your embrace…” Ann spoke softly, her eyes fluttering closed. She turned her face towards Ren’s as her left hand reached across and over her shoulder, caressing his cheek.

The corner of Ren’s lips quirked into a crooked smile. It was nice, knowing that he still had this effect on her. His own eyes drifted closed as he anticipated the soft touch of her lips and the taste the raspberry lip balm he could just start to smell, so close was he to--

_-Snap-_

“Ouch!” Ren winced as Ann flicked him between the eyes. He frowned, looking at her with a mix of amusement and betrayal as he rubbed his forehead.

“You’ve got a fight tomorrow. And this is risotto, Wildcard. You should know better than to distract me.” Ann smiled. She stood up on her toes, kissing him quickly where she had flicked. She did indeed keep an eye on the pan, though.

“Of course. _Mea culpa_.” Ren laughed, returning to his seat. “I’ll set the table then.”

“Please do!” Ann chirped. After a few more minutes, she turned, serving out two portions of the mushroom risotto onto the plates Ren had set out.

“This looks perfect.” Ren said, picking up his spoon. His mouth was already watering from the scent alone.

“Doesn’t it?” Ann took a seat beside Ren. “I checked it against the instructions Kana-chan gave you, too. It should even fit the requirements for pre-fight carb loading.”

“I still feel a little bad, Songbird.” Ren said, smiling at Ann. “All I did was sit here even though it’s literally my fight tomorrow.”

Ann bumped his shoulder affectionately. “You just sat here because I _told_ you to just sit here, Wildcard. I wanted to do this for you. And you’re wrong about the second thing. Your fights are my fights.”

Ren nodded. They ate dinner side by side; Ann giggled as Ren spooned out another large portion for himself to wolf down. Before boxing matches - tournaments in particular - he always seemed to come alive in a certain way. He was more animated; he ate with more vigor. Tonight, before the first and last Winter Cup Tournament he’d ever compete in, this seemed doubly true.

“Ren… Are you going to be okay?”

Ren paused, his spoon halfway to his mouth. “Hm? I should be fine. I always weigh in around the middle of my weight class, so it’s actually pretty hard for me to be over the limit.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ann rested her cheek in her palm, watching as Ren finished his second portion. “I meant that you’re okay with fighting Miyazawa-san? Assuming he makes it to the finals.”

“I am.” Ren replied, without a hint of lingering hesitation. “Both Haya-kun and Yusuke gave me the kick in the ass I needed. I’ve been overthinking everything, Ann. I’ve been agonizing about whether I should go pro, whether I want to take on the risks, and what it could mean in terms of our future together. Those things are all really important, but…”

“But they’re all ‘what-ifs’.” Ann finished his sentence, nodding.

“I think what it really boils down to is that I love boxing. And the best part of boxing is honing your skills and training your body to take on the strongest possible opponents.” Ren smiled in anticipation. “And even if Haya-kun doesn’t make the finals, then whoever ends up waiting there’s going to be a good opponent.”

He stood up, taking the dishes to the sink. “As for Haya-kun specifically, I really do hope we meet in the finals, Songbird. It seems like it’s important to him for us to fight again, and honestly, it’s important to me, too. He never stopped believing in me, even after Shido set me up. I want to answer him. I want to show him that the time we spent apart and the year I spent with everyone here carries weight.”

Ann considered him carefully - as always, reading him like a book. The tone of his voice was confident. His posture and body spoke of a relaxed readiness. Even the way he performed the mundane task of washing dishes was efficient and graceful. She smiled.

“You look like Joker.”

Ren blinked. He looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Well, yeah.”

Ann shook her head. She stood and walked over, hugging him from behind. “No. I mean, you _look_ like Joker. Confident bordering on cocky, relaxed but ready to spring into action. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this, even before all the other tournaments. It’s a good thing, Wildcard.”

Ren placed the dishes on the drying rack. He turned in Ann’s arms, hugging her back. 

Ann looked up at him, pulling him down for a kiss before stroking his cheek softly. “I really love you when you’re like this.”

He flashed a crooked little smile at her. “You don’t love me any other time?”

Ann lightly tapped his chest with the flat of her hand. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.”

“Could always use more _encouragement.”_

“Encouragement? What--” Ann let out a scandalized gasp as he started to lift her skirt up, clearly indicating what he meant by ‘encouragement’. She swatted at his hand as he tried to hook the waistband of the black panties she’d worn that day. “You need to _rest._ Bath, then bed.”

“But it’s so _early_.” Ren sighed dramatically. “It’ll be hard to get to sleep right now. Unless…”

“Shush.” Ann lightly tapped his lips with her index finger before turning away to go to her room.

Bemused, Ren watched her go down the hallway. Internally, he counted down from thirty, with a cocky little smirk on his face. He could just make out the sound of the bath being drawn. Ren reached for his phone as it buzzed with a text message.

**YK: Ren - thank you again for our talk the other day. I am pleased to report that my painting is complete!**

There was a pause as Yusuke snapped a photo and uploaded it to the chat.

**RA: ...Yusuke, that’s incredible. What’s the plan for the unveiling?**

**YK: I was hoping for your advice on that, my friend.**

**RA: Christmas Eve. I think that would be perfect.**

**YK: Of course. I’m afraid that I would miss your victory celebration, then.**

**RA: I haven’t won anything yet.**

**YK: The soul of your fists // Carries the will of your friends // Triumph is certain**

**RA: ...Did you just give me encouragement in haiku?**

**YK: Verily. Good night, Ren.**

Ren chuckled. He glanced down the hall towards Ann’s bedroom as his countdown from thirty ended. No invitation to join her, no ‘come hither’ motion with a naked arm from around the corner. Apparently, Ann was serious about ‘bath, then bed’. With a disappointed sigh, he folded up Ann’s apron and thought about boiling some water for tea.

“Wildcard? You coming~?” Ann’s voice called, barely holding in a little laughter. Ren smiled ruefully. Of course she knew he was waiting. She had waited just long enough to make him give up.

Ren crossed his arms as he looked down the hall. Two could play at this game. If she could make him wait, then he could--

Something fluttered out of the door to Ann’s room, landing softly in the middle of the hall. Something black and lacy.

Ren thudded to the floor as he tripped in his haste to get down the hall. He scrambled to his feet, darting inside Ann’s room to the musical tone of her laughter.

>>>

December 20, 2017 

“I know this is technically home turf… But seriously… We're gonna be fighting in _there_?” Shou mumbled, looking up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Shujin Boxing gathered at the steps leading up to the celebrated stadium, all wearing their black jackets and track pants. Despite being from Tokyo, they couldn’t help but stare. Throngs of people were arriving - support staff, spectators, and teams from all over Japan, marked by their own matching jackets.

“That team’s from Hokkaido…” Kaoru said, craning his neck to read the print on the back of a jacket. “And that one’s from Kyushu. They really are coming from all over.”

Kaname looked at her team carefully. They all stood shock still at the bottom of the steps, much quieter than usual. They couldn’t afford to feel intimidated already... The competition hadn't even started. Not that she could blame them - some of the bigger schools had over ten boxers competing today, with twenty other team members here for support. Including Kawakami, Kaname, Shinoda, and the team members who hadn't qualified, Shujin Boxing numbered sixteen people _total_. She started to step forward.

Ren moved first, putting his hand out. Up until now, Ren had been more of a ‘lead by example’ type captain. He worked hard, was supportive of his teammates, and helped Kaname run things. But he was never really the cheerleading type - until now.

“One life...” Ren said, gravely.

Kaoru laid his hand on top of Ren’s, followed by the others. “...One encounter!”

“Shujin, _fight_!” Ren yelled.

“OOOOH!”

They threw up their hands and marched into the building.

>>>

The morning went by in a flash. Registration was followed quickly by weighing in. There were quite a few fighters who had to be processed after Shujin however, so the team was left with some down time. Kaname found them a quiet corner to gather and prepare. Shou and Kaoru warmed up; both of them were due to fight almost immediately after opening ceremonies. Ren glanced at his phone.

“Oh. Hey, Kana-chan. I’m going to head up for a second. Our parents are here, and I want to make sure that my dad doesn’t try to hand out pamphlets for the inn or something else equally embarrassing.”

Kaname nodded, carefully wrapping up Shou’s hands. “Tell them all I said hi, Renpai.”

“Sure thing.” Ren nodded. He left the team behind. It was more difficult than he thought to find anyone in the crowd, though. He couldn’t spot his parents or the Takedas anywhere.

 _‘Maybe they’re still outside…’_ Ren stepped out of the main entrance, heading down the stairs to street level. His phone buzzed.

**AT: Hey, Wildcard. Found your and Kana-chan’s parents. I’m leading them over to the right section of the stands.**

**RA: Thanks, Songbird.**

Ren sighed. That took care of that, at least. He started to head inside, until he caught sight of a familiar figure heading in _entirely_ the wrong direction.

Hayato was across the street, looking incredibly confused as he wandered away from the gymnasium. He even passed under a sign that clearly stated ‘Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium’ with an arrow pointing towards the main entrance.

“Haya-kun!” Ren shouted. “Wrong way!”

“Eh?” Hayato looked back towards Ren. “Ren-chan! You’re here! What are you talkin’ about, the place is… ...right behind you.”

Hayato looked both ways before jogging across the street. He grumbled, feeling a little warm under the collar for having been caught by his friend and rival. “Tch. If you Tokyo people actually made your signs right, that wouldn’t happen.”

Ren shook his head. He held out his fist. “It’s actually nice to see that some things haven’t changed, Haya-kun.”

Hayato bumped his knuckles. He nodded. “Saw your last prelim fight, Ren-chan. Nice to see that some things have changed _back_. I’m lookin’ forward to kickin’ your butt.”

“You’d better do your part and actually make it to the finals.” Ren replied.

Hayato nodded. “I will. I saw your folks and Takamaki-san arrive. Don’t think ‘cause they’re here that I’m gonna take it easy on you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. I want to beat you at your best.” Ren flashed Hayato a challenging grin.

“...You really _are_ back, aren’t you?” Hayato said, after a moment of observation. Ren seemed different.

“No. I can’t go back to who I was, Haya-kun. Going back is impossible. But I’m going to show you how I’ve grown.” Ren replied. He looked across the street. “Why were you over there, anyway? Didn’t you arrive with your team?”

“Ah, yeah. I did. The coach and our manager are busy with gettin’ our first fighters ready, so I went to take care of some registration stuff.” Hayato said. “No idea how I ended up across the street.”

Ren smiled wryly. “I think you’re pretty much the opposite of a migratory bird or a salmon, Haya-kun. You don’t need a reason to get lost. You just naturally do it. Come on. It’s this way.”

The two captains headed back into the building. They drew eyes as they walked and chatted like the old friends they were. It wasn’t unusual for boxers from different teams to mingle; practice matches and joint training camps between schools were fairly common. However, both Ren and Hayato were known as ‘boxers to watch’. Ren, for his victories at the Inter-High and Nationals. Hayato, for fighting his way into the Winter Cup by sweeping all of his preliminary and qualifier matches. That was one reason why people watched them.

A team manager from Yamaguchi prefecture fumbled and dropped an arm full of water bottles in front of the two after accidentally meeting Hayato’s gaze. Red faced and stammering apologies, she crouched to gather them. She turned another shade of red deeper as _both_ attractive boxers crouched down with her to help, illustrating the other reason why some eyes were on the two captains. A few other girls watching nearby considered dropping more things around the two.

As they collected the bottles, Hayato glanced at the inner panel of Ren’s unzipped jacket which had fallen open as the Shujin boxer bent down. He pointed at the extra logo stitched there. “What’s that?”

“Hm? Oh.” Ren opened his jacket a little more, revealing the stylized top hat and mask of the Phantom Thieves. “The Phantom Thieves logo. One of our second-year boxers had the idea. We wouldn’t be a club if it wasn’t for them. Hell. Kamoshida would probably be running the school by now.”

More than a year later, Ren still had to fight back the urge to spit at the mention of the man’s name.

“...Right. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.” Hayato said, thoughtfully. “...Do you know if they’re still workin’? Changin’ hearts and stuff?”

“I have it on good authority that they’re retired.” Ren said, shrugging. He paused, looking at his friend. That didn’t sound like a casual question based on how Hayato was now studying the floor. “...Why?”

Hayato toed the ground, shaking his head. “...Nothin’. It’s nothin’, Ren-chan. Just seein’ your folks walking in earlier made me jealous, that’s all. My old man probably doesn’t even know I’m here right now. Just figured it’s a shame that no one can change _his_ heart, y’know?”

“Haya-kun…” Ren said, reaching to touch his friend’s shoulder. Hayato shook him off.

“It’s fine. Really. Don’t get me wrong, Ren-chan. Both of us are retirin’ from inter-high boxing after this, win or lose. It’d be nice if the old man was here to see it. But I’ve been fightin’ without him around for awhile now anyway.” Hayato shrugged. “I tried, you know? I tried to get him some help this year. I missed the Inter-high because of injury, but I missed the Fall Nationals for him. I dragged him to a few meetings and appointments… Seemed to work for all of two weeks before he relapsed. Fat lot of good that did.”

Hayato gave Ren a sudden challenging glare. “I don’t want any sympathy from you, got it? If you feel bad for me, then get your ass to finals and give me a good fight.”

Ren returned it firmly. “You’ll get it.”

The PA system chimed.

“All fighters, please report to the mustering area for opening ceremonies. All fighters, please report to the mustering area for opening ceremonies…”

“I’d better run.” Ren said. “See you in the finals, Haya-kun.”

“You bet, Ren-chan.”

Ren watched Hayato leave. The Phantom Thieves had indeed given up their Metaverse powers.

 _‘...But there might still be a way to change_ **_one_ ** _heart, at least.’_ Ren thought. He dug his phone out of his pocket as he went to meet up with his team.

**RA: Hey, Gremlin. You here yet?**

**FS: Yeah. ‘Sup?**

**RA: Got your computer on you?**

**FS: Does a bear make bad puns in a cafe?**

**RA: ...Yes?**

**FS: You need to watch** **_Shirokuma Cafe_ ** **instead of binging on shoujo and josei all the time, seriously. So what do you need me and my computer for?**

>>>

Ren’s state of calm readiness just about fell apart when they started announcing each school participating in the Winter Cup. They were all lined up in the tunnel leading into the main gymnasium, where six boxing rings were set up on the massive floor. There was an orchestra - an _actual_ orchestra, playing sonorous, moving music as each team marched in and was announced. There was at least polite applause for the smaller schools, and raucous, organized cheers for the larger teams. A few even had actual cheerleaders in the stands.

This was it. This was his first and last chance to participate in the biggest boxing event of his high school career. His knuckles turned white on the post of the sign he held that stated ‘Shujin Academy (Tokyo Prefecture)’.

Eiji, standing behind Ren, tapped the captain’s shoulder. “Hey. Aniki.”

“Yeah, Eiji?”

“Coach Shinoda says not to trip at the tunnel exit.”

Ren blinked. “Why would I--”

One of the support staff signaled to Ren.

Ren nodded - he led the team out of the tunnel. Seven of them in total - the four fighters, Kaname, Kawakami, and Shinoda. They were a smaller team, certainly. And as he stepped out of the darkness of the tunnel and held the sign high, he _felt_ small. The gymnasium was massive; the ceiling lights were almost like distant stars. It was all Ren could do to keep walking; he almost forgot to breathe. Even the air had a different feeling compared to the tunnel.

He was so wrapped up in it that he didn’t notice that the _floor_ was different, too. He stubbed his toe on the transition between the rubberized high-impact floor of the tunnel and the hardwood of the gymnasium, nearly falling flat on his face. He straightened, red-faced. Kaoru made a strangled sound as his hero tripped. Kaname facepalmed. Shou and Eiji burst out laughing. Ren’s momentary embarrassment vanished at the sudden uproar from the spectator stands.

“Go, go, go for it Shujin!”

“GO, GO, GO FOR IT SHUJIN!”

“Burn, burn, burn it up Shujin!”

“BURN, BURN, BURN IT UP SHUJIN!”

“Shujin, fiiiiight!”

“OH!”

Ann and Shiho stood at the forefront of the section in the stands that Shujin had claimed, leading the disproportionately large (for the number of entrants they had) cheering squad that the school boasted. The entire section was either in the school uniform or otherwise dressed in red and black; all held empty two-litre bottles to bang out a beat with their chants. Someone had even brought along a _taiko_ drum.

Most of the team was caught off guard by the display, shock quickly replaced by courage building in their hearts and even a few tears welling in their eyes. Kaname just gave a quick thumbs up to Ann and Shiho - the trainer slash manager had been in on it from the start.

Ren led his team to line up beside the other teams, ending up just in front of Shujin’s cheering section. Their banner was unfurled.

One life, one encounter.

>>>

Kaoru stood just outside Ring 1 in the main gymnasium, already in his headgear and gloves. His fists swung powerfully in the air. The sound wasn’t quite right, though. He felt slower than he should be. He knew why, of course.

 _‘Ten thousand. Ten thousand. Ten thousand!’_ Kaoru’s mind repeated intrusively.

It was irrational, of course. The stands weren’t full - it was just the first day of the tournament, and he was going to be in one of the six fights to start in the main gymnasium (plus two more in the sub-gym). All eyes weren’t going to be on him. But it still felt that way. He felt the weight of them all pushing down on him, slowing him down, making it hard to breathe--

_-SLAP-_

“OW!” Kaoru leapt a few feet into the air at the sudden slap between his shoulder blades. He spun.

Kaname smiled at him, her hand still out. “You were stiff, Iwai. Did that loosen you up a bit?”

Kaoru blinked. He swung his arms, tried a few jabs. “...It actually did.”

“Heh heh.” Kaname grinned. “Alright, Iwai. Your opponent’s a boxer-type. We both know what you’d normally do. But this time, I--”

“GA! ZELLE! PUNCH! GA! ZELLE! PUNCH! GA! ZELLE! PUNCH! I-WAI FIGHT… OH!”

Each syllable was punctuated by a coordinated drum/bottle beat from the Shujin supporters, including Munehisa Iwai. The owner of _Untouchable_ had actually taken over on the taiko drum, a huge grin on his normally impassive face.

“...That’s so embarrassing. But it makes me oddly happy.” Kaoru mumbled, shaking his head.

“And they stole my thunder.” Kaname muttered. Her grin became a cunning smile. “But that’s fine. Here’s what I want you to do, Kaoru.”

She cupped her hand, whispering to the featherweight.

“...Are you serious?! That’s insane!” Kaoru gasped.

“Not really. You’re nervous and jumpy. This is the best way to get over that.” Kaname said. “Also, this is a _five_ _day_ tournament, Iwai. Everyone out there has scouted you, but not all of them have _seen_ you. Let’s send a message and show them what they’re in for.”

>>>

“And our first match of the 60th Winter Cup Boxing Tournament will soon be underway. In the red corner, we have Kazuma Izaka, representing Kaisei High of Hokkaido Prefecture.”

The commentator quickly glanced at the screen in front of him at the ringside table, ensuring that the fighter’s height and weight were displayed properly for the people watching from home. In the pause, the color commentator beside him smoothly took over.

“Izaka-senshu is known as a skilled technician with particularly fast feet. The blue corner, Kaoru Iwai out of Tokyo Prefecture’s Shujin Academy, may be in for a long three rounds. While Iwai-senshu is an excellent infighter, he does tend to have a little trouble against hit-and-run tactics.”

The bell rang.

“And we’re under way. In previous matches, Iwai-senshu has been known to methodically corner his opponents before finishing them with a vicious rush of in-close body blo-- Oh _my_ _!_ A Gazelle Punch off the starting bell! Izaka’s down! Izaka is down! The referee’s counting… He’s waving his arms! The match ends in a technical knockout for Iwai!”

>>>

In the sub-gymnasium across the outdoor causeway from the main building at the Tokyo Metropolitan sports complex, members of Usuda Academy’s boxing team watched as their second-year ace, Hiroto Kobayashi, was tended to in his corner after the first round of his match. Yoshiaki Fuji, the team captain, watched at ringside.

“He’s looking good, isn’t he Fuji-san?” One of the first-year boxers who hadn’t qualified for the tournament stood beside the welterweight.

“He is.” Fuji’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the text, smiling slightly. “But he’s about to do a whole lot better. Hey! Kobayashi!”

Kobayashi looked over at Fuji. He frowned slightly at the interruption. He certainly _had_ changed from the careless, cocky boxer he was before the summer Inter-High. “In the middle of a match, Yoshi-san.”

“I know. But I thought I’d tell you that your rival out of Shujin already won his match. Nailed Izaka with a surprise Gazelle Punch in the first ten seconds of the match.” Fuji said.

“...Tch. Like I care.” Kobayashi said. He stood as the bell rang, signifying the start of the match.

“Go! Go! Usuda! Go! Go! Hiroto!”

The first year jumped at the sudden loud cheers from the stands, still unused to an event like this. He turned back to Usuda’s captain. “That didn’t seem to do anything, Fuji-senpai.”

“Just wait.” Fuji crossed his arms with a knowing smile.

Kobayashi’s opponent stepped in for a leading right straight, trying to surprise the blonde by not bothering with a jab. Kobayashi simultaneously slipped left and outside, timing a left hook to perfectly counter the attack. The boy dropped like a rock. Kobayashi yelled with more fighting spirit than he had shown all match, raising his fist even before the ref started counting.

“Holy…” The first year muttered.

>>>

December 21, 2017 

“Go! Go! A-ri-ma! Go! Go! A-ri-ma!”

“Fight! Fight! Mi-ya-za-wa! Fight! Fight! Mi-ya-za-wa!”

Hayato’s opponent, a Kyushu native named Hide Take, blocked out the cheers. Fighting the captain of Arima Senior High needed - rather, _demanded_ \- his complete attention and concentration. It was only the second round of the fight, but Take was drenched in sweat even if his breathing wasn’t labored. He wasn’t physically tired, but his frustration and mental fatigue were getting the better of him. He shifted his weight to his back foot, careful to show no hint of his movement.

From Take’s perspective, Hayato’s left glove suddenly became larger in his vision. With a cut-off curse, he tightened his guard - untelegraphed jabs slammed against his gloves, instantly stymying Take’s nascent offensive. This had been the story of the match. Hayato dominated the ‘center lane’ and punished any attempt to move forward. Slipping to the outside was prevented by cunning leading left hooks from the Arima captain. Slipping to the inside meant eating an arrow-like right straight. But Take saw the weakness of the extended left.

He timed a hook to the pullback of the jab, targeting not Hayato’s head, but his left hand. Take punched away Hayato’s left, prying open the center. Take darted in. He loaded up his right straight. He grinned fiercely, meeting Hayato’s gaze. After nearly two rounds of frustration, Take wanted to see the light leave Hayato’s eyes after he nailed him.

Hayato’s eyes were confident under the brim of his headgear.

 _‘Shit! It’s a trap!’_ Take quickly tightened his guard. He caught sight of Hayato’s blazingly fast right straight. Take braced himself. His guard would be enough. He’d block the punch, and then immediately follow up with shots to the body to slow Hayato down--

The next thing he knew, he was staring up at the ceiling, dazed. It didn’t hurt, but he felt no urge to try to sit up. He glanced over to the side. His coach was banging on the mat. 

_‘How…? My guard was tight. How did he… ...guess it doesn’t matter. Mat’s pretty comfortable…’_

>>>

December 22, 2017 

“Wild~card!” - _thump thump-_ “Wild~card!” - _thump thump- “_ Wild~card!”

“Kyaa~ Amamiya-senpai!”

“Don’t let him hit your face!”

“Aheh… And er… Amamiya-senshu’s popularity once again becomes evident as the second round draws to a close at this welterweight quarterfinal matchup.” The commentator said, awkwardly.

“That’s right. Amamiya has quite the following, not only at Shujin Academy, but other schools as well. For various reasons.” Mari Minoru, providing color, chuckled. “At least a few of those reasons are related to his boxing.”

“Though, he hasn’t shown us much in these first three days, has he?” The commentator said, as highlights from Ren’s previous matches at the tournament were played.

“I’d say that he’s shown us exactly what he’s intended, Fukui-san.” Mari said, looking over at the red corner. Ren was sitting on the stool there, looking none the worse for wear from the first two rounds against Shinichi Ito, a boxer-puncher from Sendai Tech. His corner team, currently composed of Kaname Takeda and Shou Kimura, also seemed unconcerned. “It’s a long tournament, and his fights so far have reminded me of Hayato Miyazawa from Arima High. Both of them seem to be trying to throw off any scouting.”

“How do you mean?”

“In Miyazawa’s bout against Take, he relied primarily on the dazzling left jab he’s known for. He won using an unusual right straight.” Mari continued. “Unusual in that it somehow penetrated a tight guard. And he only unleashed it when he had his back to the camera, in fact. As for Amamiya, his tournament performance has been wildly inconsistent in his style. He won his first match in an overwhelming TKO; his second by decision. And today, he again seems to be aiming for a decision victory, though the point gap is very close to my count. Both fighters seem to be trying to avoid showing any patterns to exploit."

“Fascinating. Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that they were former gym mates in Kamakura?”

“Possibly. Whatever the reason, the control that _both_ fighters are able to exert over their matches is quite impressive.” Mari continued. The bell rang, signifying the start of the third round. “Ito seems to be putting up a good fight, but his frustration is mounting.”

Mari watched as Ren moved in. “And here’s his Flicker jab--...”

A chopping right stunned Ito; an immediate smash finished the fight, turning the ‘close decision’ into a sudden knockout.

“And Amamiya-senshu advances to the semis!” The commentator shouted.

As Ann once again led the ‘Wildcard’ chant from the stands, Mari stared blankly at Ren.

 _‘I could have_ **_sworn_ ** _I saw him throw a Flicker. What happened…?’_

>>>

December 23, 2017 

“Aaaah, _man_. Can you believe we both lost in the semis, Eiji?! Just our luck to run into some big shots from Arima, huh?” Shou groaned, before flashing a grin and clapping Eiji on the shoulder. “Always next year, though, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Eiji mumbled. The silver-haired former delinquent bit his lip as the two of them made their way to Shujin Academy’s appointed meeting place in the sub-gymnasium. In the penultimate day of the tournament, as more and more boxers were eliminated, the detached building stopped hosting matches and was made available for teams to gather and warm up. Eiji wiped at his eyes. “It’s… It’s really dusty out here.”

“...Eiji. Eiji, stop.” Shou laughed a little before his jovial expression started to crumble into tears as well. “Come on. If you… ...if you cry, I’m gonna cry too. So… so stop. There’s next year, right?”

“S-sorry, Shou. It’s just… We trained so hard. We worked so hard, but we still let everyone down.”

“You absolutely did not. You two should be proud of how you did.” Kawakami said gently, as she approached the two boxers. She squeezed their shoulders from behind, guiding them to the sub-gym. “You two fought _exactly_ as our banner said. You’ve come a long way since last year, you know? You used to be hopeless troublemakers. And now you have kouhai who’re waiting for you, who look up to you. So take a deep breath and chin up, okay?”

“Sensei…”

“Kawakami-sensei…”

She smiled, her own eyes a little misty. “Come on.”

The three of them walked into the sub-gym. Ren and Kaoru were seated on the floor, stretching and cooling down while the other members of the team chatted and helped back up their things at the end of the penultimate day of the tournament. As Shou and Eiji approached the group, Ren stood up. He started applauding, and was quickly joined by the remainder of the squad.

Eiji put on a stiff upper lip, nodding firmly. He glanced over at his best friend.

Shou held on for just a moment before he burst into tears.

Kawakami watched proudly as the team devolved into tears and laughter. Even Kaname had nothing but praise for her two second-year fighters. While there were always things to improve on, now was not the time. Both Eiji and Shou needed time to recover from their matches, and Ren and Kaoru needed the shot of positive energy. The finals were tomorrow. Ren versus Hayato, and Kaoru versus Kobayashi.

The teacher watched as Ren spoke with a few Shujin students - including one girl bold enough to ask for his autograph. She stifled a laugh as Ann materialized at his side with a permanent marker for him, not-so-casually clinging to his elbow. It made her happy to see the romance between the two continue to bloom.

_‘Though, bloom might be the wrong word for them, now. It’s more steadfast, now. Never thought I’d think that about high school students…’_

The girl moved on to Kaoru, who looked shocked and embarrassed at being asked for a signature. He started to take the _shikishi_ board and pen before Kaname dragged him away, ostensibly to go over some video or something. Bloom was probably a better word for _them_. Kawakami smiled wryly. Sometimes, attempting to be discreet just made things more painfully obvious as far as teenage romance was concerned.

“Alright, everyone! Don’t forget anything!” Kawakami called, cupping her hands around her mouth. “We’re heading back to Shujin in five!”

It was hard to believe that this club started as something she roped Ren into just to throw off Chouno’s suspicion. At the outset, she had no intention of staying on as faculty advisor - she didn’t particularly care for boxing. All she wanted was to avoid having the English teacher discovering Kawakami’s other job as a maid.

But after that worry was taken care of by Ren and his friends, she found that she didn’t really want to hand the club over to anyone else. She didn’t want some ambitious teacher trying to use Ren and his teammates; even though he was doing well, the teacher still felt protective of Ren and his chosen family. And it was energizing to see him passionate about something other than Ann.

So it wasn’t really that surprising to find herself proudly wearing a jacket with her name and a coach’s ‘C’ on it. Nor was it surprising that she carried a thick notebook now full of boxing terminology, techniques, and training tips she had scrawled over the year as she learned about the sport. She glanced at Ren as he hefted the shoulder strap of a cooler, waving off a few of the junior members.

The semi finals had been challenging for both Ren and Kaoru. Overall, the difficulty of the matches had ramped up since Wednesday, but Saturday’s fights had been the worst thus far. Kaoru had spent most of his match behind on points until he was able to land a liver blow that buckled his opponent at the start of the third round.

 _‘Liver blow... Painful, and capable of knocking out an opponent.’_ Kawakami recalled, glancing at the notes and diagram in her notebook.

As for Ren, he once again faced the captain of Usuda Academy, Yoshiaki Fuji. The boy he had so soundly defeated at Fall Nationals was far better prepared for Ren this time. At times, the two even traded blows. Ren, who was rarely hit cleanly, was actually staggered a few times and forced to demonstrate that he had a good ‘chin’. Ren managed to finish the fight in the third round with a frightening right straight that came out of nowhere after spending the entire second round failing to land overhand rights.

_‘The entire second round was setting up the trap. He got Fuji used to the angle of the overhand, and then the right straight shot in like a bullet.’_

She made some annotations in her notebook. She blinked as a silhouette of someone with hopelessly messy hair appeared on the page. She closed the book, looking up at Ren.

“Oh! Amamiya-kun.” Kawakami looked around - they were alone. “Nice fight today.”

“Thanks, sensei. Were there any problems with what we talked about earlier?”

Kawakami shook her head. “No. I took Takeda-san down to the station. I tried to pay for his _shinkansen_ ticket out of club funds, but he refused. He said that it was his obligation to go anyways.”

Ren chuckled. “Coach can be like that. I’m not surprised. Thanks for seeing him off.”

“Why go through all the trouble, Amamiya-kun?” Kawakami asked, frowning. “It seems that if this goes the way you want it to, your fight tomorrow’s going to be _harder_.”

Ren nodded. “I know. That’s fine. Haya-kun wants to fight me at my best. And I feel the exact same way.”

>>>

Later that evening, a short, stocky figure walked alone down the rough Nishinari neighborhood that Hayanari Miyazawa called home. Like Hayato, despite not living in the area the man was left alone. _Un_ like Hayato, it wasn’t because he was known to the people living there. Nor did the man appear to be physically imposing or armed. But the way he carried himself and the way his diamond-hard gaze scanned the dark alleys and corners warned away any would-be predators. The opportunistic coyotes of the area didn’t dare to hunt a wolf, even one as grizzled as this.

He walked past the wrecked white Corolla; he glanced at his phone to check the address that Ren had provided him. The door to the apartment was unlocked.

Shinji Takeda wrinkled his nose at the scent of stale beer and cigarettes. His eyes locked onto the man sitting on the floor, leaning against the unmade bed.

“Miyazawa-san. It’s been a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hayato still refers to Ren as 'Ren-chan' out of well-established habit. They met when they were still in elementary school, about a year after Ren started boxing. I have to admit that the addition of Hayato into the story was a post-hoc decision that I made well into GtD:XR. I felt like Ren's fights were lacking emotional impact beyond his dithering between pro/not pro and boxing/not boxing. At first, I didn't intend for Ren to really run into a big challenge in boxing until after he left the high school circuit. My logic at the time was that after a year of fighting for his life, he wouldn't find high school level opponents all that challenging. But that made for a boring story, from what I could see in my outlines/drafts. It became clear to me that Ren needed a kick in the ass. He needed to find the joy of facing down someone as strong (or stronger) than himself in a situation that wasn't life or death.
> 
> The other thing I'm trying to express here is the 'two way street' discussion that Ren had with Ann and then subsequently his own father. The fallout from Ren's conviction didn't just hurt Ren and his family - it also hurt other people connected to him. Hayato really could have used a friend, and Ren wasn't there. Not that it was his fault, but emotions are emotions because they aren't logical.
> 
> The thought of the second-years calling Kaname 'onee-san' just tickles me for some reason. She really is the Demon Trainer, but as the year's gone on it's become clear that she cares for the team quite a bit.
> 
> Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium - Why here? I wanted a big venue, and I recently binged on Haikyu!!, haha.
> 
> Arima and Miyazawa are blatant Kare Kano references.
> 
> Team structure: Kawakami is the 'official' head coach of the team. Every school team/club requires a faculty advisor, but they can bring in outside coaches if available. In this case, that's Shinoda. However, the de facto head trainer is Kaname, who has also taken on manager tasks (equipment maintenance, etc). Kaname's official title on paper is 'Manager'.
> 
> Just a bit on original characters in this AU. In my original notes, things panned out differently. There was a lot less focus on boxing and more just on Ren/Ann and how their relationship goes through third year. In my original draft, Ryuji actually ends up joining the boxing team as the story follows canon a little closer (Ryuji decides that track isn't his place anymore, etc). The other former Phantom Thieves also appear a little more often in the story. In the current incarnation, it didn't feel quite as natural. I mean, each of the PTs have their own hopes/dreams. To me, it seems inevitable that they'd spend more time apart as third year goes on (and certainly after they graduate), especially as the 'us against society' mentality of the Phantom Thieves becomes less necessary and they all start forging their own connections. So it made sense for me to start introducing original characters to flesh out the boxing-oriented parts of this.
> 
> Some more GtD trivia for anyone who cares/has been following along. In the original drafts, the Winter Cup takes up maybe a single paragraph. Barely. The focus instead is on a certain boxer asking someone for permission to ask a certain question to a certain model. Re-reading it, I decided it was even more unrealistic than this fic already is, haha. Teenage proposal doesn't quite fit the characters as they are anymore.
> 
> Winter Cup is the last tournament for Ren in high school. After this, it's time to buckle down and focus hard on entrance exams. Hypothetically, if Ren hadn't qualified for the Winter Cup, he would have already retired and left the club to the second/first years. This is common in Japan for high school sports. If you recall, this already happened with Shiho - that's why she was so affected by her team's loss.
> 
> Speaking of Shiho, her whole deal with Kurosawa probably merits a side story on its own. Just like how Ryuji/Makoto need a few side stories to flesh things out also.
> 
> So much backlog/writing to do X_@


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winter Cup concludes.
> 
> Iwai v Kobayashi (Featherweight Finals)
> 
> Amamiya v Miyazawa (Welterweight Finals)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Way longer than I thought it would be. Please excuse mistakes; longer chapters always seem to have more errors that slip through.
> 
> Terms/Definitions/Reminders
> 
> Nafudakake/nafuda - Name plate board and name plates. In traditional dojos, you'll often see these. Most will have at minimum the names of the instructors. Some places do what Takeda does - if you're a student, your name goes up.
> 
> Decision (boxing) - Decisions happen when time elapses and both boxers are still standing. Each round gets scored by a panel of three judges. If two judges score for one fighter and the other scores the other way, that is a 'split decision'. In a 'split draw', two judges score opposite from each other and the third scores as a draw.
> 
> KO - Knockout. Boxer unable to continue after ten-count
> 
> TKO - Technical knockout. Boxer judged as unable to continue by referee or fight doctor
> 
> Rope-a-Dope - Made famous by Ali, the technique in which a fighter pretends to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent into throwing tiring, ineffective punches. Use the ropes elasticity to take the punches. To do this, boxer has to have a great chin and ability to withstand punishment/guard. Really though refers to any technique in which a boxer fools their opponent into wasting energy on ineffective punches.
> 
> Liver blow/Liver punch - This is a thing. A hard punch aimed at the right upper quadrant is extremely painful and can lead to a cascade of physiological events that can actually drop you. People have scored knockouts from these punches, despite being nowhere near the head.
> 
> Forearm crush/stiff arms/collars - Borderline legal moves. Actually, technically fouls. But if done briefly/fast enough, won't usually be called. Usually involve briefly pushing on/shoving the opponent's neck/head.
> 
> sakki - bloodlust/intent
> 
> Makoto's 'confession' - See GtD, chapter 17 (Sonny Liston)
> 
> Guts pose - So named for 'Guts Ishimatsu', a former Japanese lightweight world champion. Flamboyant boxer, went on to become an actor/comedian. The 'Guts-Pose', now part of the Japanese vernacular, comes from this guy. Pumping fist up and down in the air.
> 
> Second (boxing) - General term for members of the boxer's corner team.
> 
> Hayabusa - Peregrine falcon

March 22, 2015 

“Haha, Kaname-chan’s _jealous_ of Hayato…!” Someone said, somewhere behind Kaname.

Kaname whirled around, glaring daggers at the boxers behind her. They all looked away innocently; even some of the pros seemed to be unnerved by the first-year middle school student. She huffed, turning back to her father.

“...Fine. But it’s not like they’re never going to see each other again.” Kaname grumbled. She headed to the stairs to the roof.

“Kaname…” Shinji said, frowning.

“I’m just going to make sure they don’t do anything stupid! I’m their trainer too, aren’t I!? I won’t interrupt them unless they start trying to punch each other or something.”

Shinji sighed, waving a hand. “Fine, fine…”

As the door closed behind Kaname, he allowed himself a little smile. It was almost involuntary - every time Kaname said something about wanting to be a trainer or wanting to follow in his footsteps, he couldn’t help but feel the pride rising in his chest. He knew part of it was due to her interest in Ren, but at the same time, she wouldn’t be able to show the kind of ability she had as a trainer if she was only doing this for some childish crush.

“Heh. Those three are at it again, Coach?”

Shinji turned to the gym’s door, quickly wiping the soft smile away from his face. He nodded to the visitor - Hayanari Miyazawa, Hayato’s father.

“As usual.” Shinji scoffed. “You’re here to pick up your son?”

Hayanari nodded. “Y-yeah…” The man glanced around the gym. As usual, Takeda Boxing was busy; plenty of fighters and trainers around. “Coach Takeda, can we talk in your office?”

Shinji nodded, gesturing at the door in the back. The two men sat down at the Coach’s desk. Shinji reached into the bottom drawer, starting to withdraw a bottle of _Suntory Toki_ whiskey.

Hayanari raised a hand. “Ah, sorry Coach. I don’t drink.” He smiled sheepishly. “I can’t stand the stuff.”

Shinji nodded, closing the drawer. He instead reached behind him to the mini-fridge, taking out a bottle of water. “No, it’s my fault for assuming, Miyazawa-san. Now. What can I do for you?”

Hayanari reached into his jacket, taking out an envelope. “Here’s Hayato’s gym fees. I know I’ve been behind for the past few months and I didn’t want us to move away without settling our debt to you. You’ve done so much for Hayato.” He placed the envelope on the table, sliding it towards the grizzled coach.

Shinji glanced first at the envelope, and then at Hayanari. Hayato’s father was a familiar sight at the gym by now. In the past few months though, Hayanari hadn’t come by to watch his son’s training sessions as often. He also hadn’t been able to attend the last few tournaments, either. The man had a shadow of stubble on his chin; new worry lines creased his face. Even the clothes he wore seemed a little threadbare in places.

The Miyazawa family hadn’t said much about why they were moving back to the Kansai area, but Shinji had an idea. Kamakura wasn’t that big, and the coach had heard that the local branch of the company that Hayanari worked for was going under, forcing his transfer back to the home branch in Osaka.

Shinji pushed the envelope back across to Hayanari. “It’s fine.”

Hayanari’s eyes widened. He quickly shoved the envelope back to Shinji. “No! Please! It’s too much, Coach! It’s completely fine. Hayato earned that scholarship to that high school in Kyoto, all thanks to you and the boxing team! So tuition isn’t a problem, and we…”

Shinji shook his head. “Your son earned that scholarship with the strength of his own fist, Miyazawa-san. If you feel compelled to do something with this money, then save it for your son. If he stays serious about boxing, there’s always going to be things like equipment and entry fees to worry about.”

Hayanari reluctantly took the money back, putting it back in his jacket. He sighed. “You know, he won’t even be your boxer anymore. You really don’t have to be so generous.”

“I disagree, Miyazawa-san.” Shinji looked over Hayanari’s shoulder out the window of the office, nodding at _nafudakake_ visible on the opposite wall of the gym. There, multiple wooden _nafuda_ hung, written with the names of Shinji himself, the trainers, and of course, all the boxers who trained in the gym. “You ever look at that?”

“The names of all the boxers who train here, right?” Hayanari said.

“The names of all the boxers who _ever_ trained here, actually.” Shinji said, scratching his chin. “Once I consider someone one of my boxers, their name goes up on the wall. And it stays there, no matter where they move to or who they fight for.”

“I see…” Hayanari mumbled.

“So if you want to do anything for me, Miyazawa-san… Watch over that son of yours. If he becomes a great boxer - and more importantly, a good man - then that’s more than enough repayment. Good luck in Kyoto.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 

Christmas Eve, in Tokyo. The final day of the Winter Cup.

Kaoru stood in the tunnel that opened into the main gymnasium at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. It was early, yet. At six in the morning, there were hardly any boxers here. Even the support staff was just starting to arrive for the final day of the competition. At the start of the Winter Cup, six rings had been set up in the main gym with an additional two in the sub-gym. Today, there was just a single boxing ring set up in the middle of the main gymnasium. The arena was dim; only the light over the ring shone down. It was a striking sight; both lonely and exhilarating. 

Traditionally, Christmas Eve was meant for lovers; a day where young people especially tried to spend time with the people most important to them. Kaoru was nervous about his fight, but his important companion by his side certainly helped to calm him.

“This… this is really it, isn’t it? I’m going to be fighting in that ring.” Kaoru said, biting his lip. “Aren’t I… senpai?”

Ren nodded. In Kaoru’s eyes, the dim light of the tunnel caught his captain’s quicksilver eyes perfectly; the welterweight stood with his arms crossed, his jacket zipped up. He seemed invincible. Larger than life.

“We both are, Kaoru. And we’re going to _win_.”

“Senpai…!” Kaoru gasped, with a sparkling gaze.

Standing a few metres back, Kaname rolled her eyes. She looked over at Ann, whispering harshly. “If Renpai steals Iwai away from me, I’m going to kill _both_ of them.”

“I feel nothing but sympathy for you.” Ann sighed, thinking of Ren’s worship of Mamoru Yamanaka. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes. “I might kill both of them anyway, Kana-chan. I can’t believe they both wanted to show up this early. Though… Ren couldn’t sleep. Or if he did, I didn’t notice.”

Kaname nodded. “I imagine Iwai was the same. I don’t think energy’s going to be a problem, though we’ll probably have to force them to take a nap at some point in the morning. They don’t fight until early in the afternoon.” She sighed. “Might as well do something useful if we’re here this early. Ann-nee, can you take Renpai and stake out a spot for the team?”

“Mmhm.” Ann yawned as she stepped forward, taking Ren’s hand. “Come on, Wildcard.”

Kaoru remained fixed to his spot, his eyes still taking in the sight of the single ring in the middle of the massive gym floor. He was really going to fight there. All attention would be on him and his opponent. The feeling of Kaname’s eyes on him briefly distracted him from the pounding of his heart.

“Kana-chan… Do you really think I’m ready for this?”

“You aren’t.” She said bluntly.

Kaoru blinked, he looked at her. Her grave look faded, replaced by the little smile she reserved for him when she thought no one was looking. She boldly stepped into the empty gymnasium and climbed up onto the apron of the ring. She sat on the middle rope while pushing up the top one, nodding at Kaoru.

Mystified, he climbed up and stepped between the ropes. Kaname followed him. The light that flooded the ring in the otherwise unlit arena created a curtain of darkness around the ring; the only sound was their breathing and their feet against the canvas. He felt like the world had contracted down to just the six by six metre ring, and the only person there with him was this girl who was so very important to him.

“Kaoru.” She said, softly. It was silly, but the sound of his given name from her seemed to deepen the spell over him. It was funny. Usually, she only called him that when she slipped up. Generally speaking, it was followed by a blush and some stammering. This time though, she stood there, her hands in the pockets of the Shujin Boxing Team jacket that she loved so much. “Show me your shadow.”

She nodded at the center of the ring.

Kaoru automatically raised his fists, taking the peek-a-boo stance that was by now second nature to the young boxer. He stood completely still for a few heartbeats; he could have been a statue.

Kaname clapped her hands sharply.

Kaoru flew into action. He aggressively pursued his imagined opponent, Hiroto Kobayashi. Kaoru slipped two jabs, both of them off-rhythm. He relentlessly aimed for the inside, forcing the opponent in his mind’s eye to shut down his deadly left jab in order to block and parry the hard hooks and uppercuts Kaoru used. Kaoru kept his own left guard up to absorb right hooks and straights, waiting for the right moment - the moment where Kobayashi couldn’t keep up with the infight anymore, and took a step back--

Kaoru’s hips dropped. He pushed hard off the canvas.

His Gazelle Punch exploded upwards; Kaoru landed on his feet, panting lightly. He looked over at Kaname.

“You aren’t ready.” Kaname repeated, moving to stand in front of him. “No one’s ever completely ready for a fight like this. There’s too many things you don’t know. You don’t know how you’ll react to the crowd; you don’t know if the guy in the other corner has something to surprise you with. But there’s no one else.”

“No one else…?” Kaoru asked, curiously.

Kaname smiled. She stood on her toes, her lips briefly touching his. “You can’t be ready, but there’s no one else who can fight in your place. You’ve already beaten them all. So this is _your_ fight. Only you belong here. All you need to do is show us the strength and training you used to earn this, and everything will be fine.”

>>>

The _Hikari_ shinkansen was the second-fastest train from Kyoto to Tokyo. The maglev train was a true marvel of technology, converting a trip that was normally seven to eight hours by bus into a mere two hours and forty minutes. For most, this was a smooth, comfortable, and uneventful ride. The only perception one had of speed was by watching the surroundings flash by at velocities exceeding two hundred kilometres per hour.

For Hayanari Miyazawa, the ride was anything but comfortable. It started with being dragged onto the train by a surprisingly strong Shinji Takeda. While the coach was decades removed from his heyday as the JBC Featherweight Champion, his grip was still like iron. And Hayanari, after years of trying to drink himself to death, was in no shape to stop him - _especially_ as he slowly and reluctantly returned to sobriety.

The first hour of the trip had been _excruciating_ , as the drunken haze was gradually replaced by the first hangover he had felt in months. The last one was in early October, when Hayato gave up his spot in the Fall Nationals to force his father to go to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in months. The guilt from that was enough to get him through _that_ hangover, and was good for two weeks of sobriety. But then while his son was at school in Kyoto, Hayanari managed to catch a recording of the tournament - a tournament that did _not_ feature Hayato, as it rightfully should have. The shame was enough to make him reach for the nearest bottle.

And since then, he had redoubled his efforts to grasp the coward’s death he so desperately wanted. He grimaced, almost whimpering as the train left Nagoya behind and started traveling on the coast. The rays of the sun beat down on his eyes, too accustomed to the darkness of his apartment. He squinted out at the coast, at the glittering water. His wife probably loved this view, back then. When she took the last business trip of her life.

_‘We’ll manage, Hayanari-san. Don’t worry, okay? I’ll come back at the end of each week.’_

He really did whimper as his clearing mind brought _her_ voice to the forefront. Her beautiful smile, and the last time he and Hayato saw it. Just before she boarded this very train.

_‘I don’t mind. I always planned to go back to work at some point, remember? You know me. I think I’m where Hayato gets his energy from!’_

“C… Coach. Please… Need… Need a drink…” Hayanari groaned.

_‘Tokyo’s not that far, these days. Besides. I’m sure you two boys will have all sorts of fun together, right? You can tell me all about it when I see you again!’_

Her last kiss, for each of them. She never really cared much about ‘TPO’ when it came to showing affection for ‘her boys’.

_‘Love you. See you again soon, okay?’_

“Please!”

Shinji wordlessly reached into his bag, producing a bottle of water and a can of coffee. He thumped both of them onto the tray-table in front of him.

“Drink all you want.” Shinji said, simply.

Hayanari stared at the beverages. Never before had he felt so much hatred for the caricature decorating the _Boss_ brand coffee. Some ridiculous man with a pipe in his mouth.

“You don’t _understand_!” He yelled, swatting both off the table. “I don’t want to do this! I can’t do this! I… I can’t…” He started to sob, almost hysterically.

“What do you mean, Miyazawa-san?” Shinji said, stooping down to pick up the bottle and can. He nodded to a concerned stewardess, waving her away politely. His voice, while always gruff, stayed completely calm.

Hayanari wanted to scream at Shinji; wanted to scream at the entire train full of travellers, who were all eyeing him askance. Although Shinji had shoved him (fully clothed) into a public bath and then forced him into a clean polo shirt and slacks, the elder Miyazawa looked unhinged. He raised his head to start his tirade. He didn’t know what he’d say, or how he’d say it. He’d start by just yelling. Screaming. Maybe he’d even take a suicidal swing at the former boxer.

Such thoughts faded as he met Takeda’s eyes. In his prime, Shinji Takeda had earned the nickname ‘The Tiger of Kanagawa’. Hayanari always thought it was just a simple play on the nickname of _Shingen_ Takeda, the warlord of the Sengoku era. Of course, Shingen was known as the Tiger of _Kai_ , the area neighboring modern-day Kanagawa.

But now, as he met Shinji’s firm gaze, all thoughts of childish rebellion faded from Hayanari’s mind. The man’s eyes did indeed remind Hayanari of a tiger - but one who found the quivering animal in front of him to not even be worth eating. He shivered as he stilled, just listening to him speak.

“What do you mean?” He repeated. “Is it that you don’t want to, or that you can’t?”

“It’s… it’s both.” Hayanari mumbled.

Shinji shook his head, turning to look out the window.

“They’re different, Miyazawa-san. ‘Can’t’ and ‘Don’t want to’ are different things.” He paused, a thoughtful frown crossing his diamond-hard features. “...You see, I _do_ understand.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“After my first wife died… It was gambling, for me.” Shinji said, quietly. “Kaname was too young to remember, but I left her with her grandparents or a neighbor almost every night so I could go and play cards, or dice, or whatever else I could scrape up the money for. All because I didn’t want to face life without Kanako. And then I fell even deeper because I didn’t want to face the shame of abandoning my own daughter. I wasted a year thinking ‘I can’t face her’, or ‘I can’t do this’.”

“I didn’t figure it out until I was minutes away from entering an underground prize fight against a younger man - someone who was capable of _killing_ me. I realized something. I realized the only thing I ‘can’t’ do is let my daughter grow up without a father.”

The words were heartfelt. Hayanari could feel them to his core. But his shame ran deep.

“...But I don’t deserve--”

Shinji shook his head. “When it comes to your son, it’s not about what _you_ deserve, Miyazawa-san. You gave up the right to consider that the _moment_ Hayato was born. It doesn’t matter what you think you deserve. It doesn’t matter what kind of shame you have to bear. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. All that matters is that your boy - _your_ boy - still wants you in his life. So shut up and drink your damn coffee.”

Hayanari bit his lip. With a trembling hand, he reached for the can. He didn’t open it. Instead, he just stared at it numbly for a few moments before glancing back at Shinji.

“Coach Takeda… Why are you doing this? Hayato hasn’t boxed for you in years.”

Shinji smiled slightly.

“His name’s still up on the wall.”

>>>

“And welcome back to the All-Japan Winter Cup Boxing Tournament! I’m Jyoji Morikawa, and joining me is special guest commentator from _Boxing Fan_ , Mari Minoru! We’ve already had a fantastic day of fights here at the finals, with young men and women from across the country reaching the end of their champion road. And now, we’re moving onto one of our most highly anticipated fights of the day, the featherweight finals! Minoru-san, your thoughts?”

Mari smiled for the camera - this time, her expression was genuine.

“This should be a good one, Morikawa-san. I took the liberty of observing both Kobayashi and Iwai’s preparations in the weeks ahead of this tournament, and I can say with confidence - these two have been waiting for each other.”

“Is that so? But they couldn’t have known they’d be facing each other in the finals?”

“They didn’t. But ever since their first encounter at the summer Inter-high, they’ve each had a chip on their shoulder. I’ll remind the viewers at home that Iwai lost to Kobayashi by a narrow split decision - a decision that happened only after Kobayashi _barely_ managed to stand up after a final rush by the rookie.”

“Ah, but you said they _each_ have a chip on their shoulder?”

Mari nodded, watching as Kobayashi and Kaoru each stood in their corners, shaking their arms out and receiving last-minute instructions from their coaches. “Kobayashi certainly doesn’t feel like he won the Inter-high. Going into that fight against Iwai, he was projected to win by either KO or an overwhelming point margin. According to my research, after that fight Kobayashi’s training and dedication changed completely.”

Morikawa nodded. “So these fighters are going to show us something exciting today!”

“They’d better.” Mari said, smiling in anticipation. As usual, she wasn’t terribly enthused for high school boxing. But now, four out of the four fighters she wanted to watch would be in the finals - and fighting _each other_. She couldn’t have asked for more. She watched as Kaoru and Kobayashi approached the center of the ring. The referee inspected each of their gloves and headgear. The two boys were already glaring at each other. For Kobayashi, that was no surprise. If looks could kill, the formerly flashy blonde would have had a body count that numbered in the dozens by now - from Mari’s observations, the previously flaky boxer had been taking this tournament as seriously as a heart attack.

And as for Kaoru, the intensity of his stare was also something to behold. While his physique and fighting style closely resembled the ‘Tiger of Kanagawa’, his personality outside of the ring was almost the polar opposite. He was generally quiet, polite, and utterly unintimidating. But inside the ring, he was like another person. Even with his hands down, his broad shoulders, powerful legs, and stocky build promised explosive power and ruthless intent.

The referee nodded. “Let’s have a good fight. Touch gloves!”

To Mari’s surprise, the two actually touched gloves. Kobayashi even _smiled_ , albeit grimly. It was one of things that fascinated Mari about boxing. Two combatants, who had trained themselves to the pinnacle of physical prowess for the singular purpose of taking each other apart, also respected each other. Of course, some boxers had turned trash talk into an art - but at the end of the day, they knew how much work their opponent had put into the fight, because they themselves had to do the same in order to stand in that ring.

The two fighters returned to their corners. The referee raised, then crossed his arms.

“Box!”

_‘Iwai’s likely going to dash in--!!’_

Either Kaoru was really fired up for this match, or Shujin’s featherweight had been hiding another gear this entire time. By the time Kobayashi turned to face his opponent, Kaoru was already in the center of the ring. And when Kobayashi started to move out of his corner, the shorter fighter was already in his face.

“And a barrage of lefts from Iwai!” Morikawa yelled excitedly. “The first-year from Shujin has _already_ trapped Kobayashi against the ropes! This is his trademark in-close rush! Could we be seeing a surprise TKO!?”

Mari watched. She frowned slightly as her initial surprise faded. Kaoru was hammering away on top of Kobayashi’s guard, but it wasn’t having as much of an effect on him as she would have expected. Her eyes widened.

“Seriously?!”

“What is it, Minoru-san?”

“Look at the ropes, Morikawa-san. Kobayashi’s letting Iwai pound on his guard, and he’s using the ropes themselves to absorb the considerable force behind Iwai’s punches. This is like Foreman versus Ali all over again - the fight where Ali introduced the famous ‘rope-a-dope’ strategy against Foreman.” Mari said. “It looks simple, but this is a technique that requires no small amount of courage and body control.”

“So this is all according to Kobayashi’s plan?”

“Doubtful.” Mari said, shaking her head. “Iwai’s known as much for his stamina as he is his power. That’s a trademark of all Takeda boxers. Judging by the look on his corner’s face, this is a _contingency_ plan. One they didn’t expect to have to use so early. There has to be an exit, though - even with the ropes, this has to hurt.”

Iwai’s right slammed into Kobayashi’s guard over his face. The blonde boxer leaned back, _hard_ into the ropes. As he bounced forward off of them, Kaoru sent another right at Kobayashi’s chin - this time a compact uppercut.

 _‘This is it! He’s finished!’_ Mari thought. _‘Disappointing---!!’_

Kobayashi somehow timed a left hook to the uppercut, clipping Kaoru’s headgear as the shorter boxer barely bobbed away from the punch. But it was enough - Kobayashi pivoted off his left foot, turning the technique into a check hook that allowed him to escape the ropes.

“GO! GO! U-SU-DA! GO! GO! KO-BAY-A-SHI!”

The crowd went wild as Kobayashi’s blazing footwork carried him to the center of the ring. In the stands, his grandmother led the charge as she waved a comically large war fan with the characters for ‘iron resolve’ beautifully painted on the paper.

Kaoru didn’t give his opponent any time to relax, charging in again. Even to Mari’s eyes from ringside, the speed of Kaoru’s dash was terrifying. From Kobayashi’s view point, it must have been like facing down a freight train. To his credit, the bleach-blonde boxer danced to his left, firing off pin-point jabs at Kaoru’s face to try to fend him off and earn some points back in his favor.

Kaoru slipped the jabs expertly, trying to angle off Kobayashi, who responded with a quick backstep and pivot. He moved like he had eyes in the back of his head, keeping away from the corners of the ring.

It was breathtaking. The two had researched each other to the point where Kaoru could see Kobayashi’s incredible left perfectly; Kobayashi had such precise vision of the ring that he was able to avoid being trapped by the infighter. Both of them were exchanging high-level technique in such a subtle fashion that to the crowd, all they could see were Kobayashi’s jabs hitting Kaoru’s guard, and Kaoru just chasing the blonde boxer around the ring. The cheers for Kobayashi grew increasingly louder.

But a quick glance at the corners told the story to Mari. In Kaoru’s corner, both Kaname Takeda and Tetsuya Shinoda seemed completely unconcerned. In Kobayashi’s corner, Toji Tomiya was yelling instructions, banging his fist on the mat.

“Mix it up, Kobayashi! You need to _move!_ Change your rhythm! Change it before--Damn it!”

A vicious right hook slammed into Kobayashi’s body as he tried to circle to his left. The thunderous hit made him spit out his mouthguard, bending his body over at the waist and sending him stumbling back into middle range.

“This is it!” Mari shouted, standing up, her hands on the table.

Kaname was yelling as well. “NOW, Iwai! Do it now!”

Kaoru already knew. His hips were low; his guard tight. His left arm was firm against his body, ensuring that the full power of his legs would travel the kinetic chain perfectly into his fist as he delivered his leaping shovel hook - the powerful blow that was Floyd Patterson’s Gazelle Punch.

Kobayashi started to straighten. He had time to throw himself to the left or right, or to raise his guard and take the punch. His eyes widened; he stared as Kaoru closed the distance explosively.

Kobayashi’s head twisted violently with the impact of the punch… and he staggered to the side, dropping to a knee. The crowd roared; the taiko drum and empty water bottles of Shujin’s cheering section thudded away to the referee’s count.

“One! Two! Three! Four--”

Kobayashi stood up, seemingly none the worse for wear. The crowd stared in shocked silence. Up until now, every boxer who had taken the Gazelle Punch had either been down for the count or lost to a referee-mandated TKO. Even Kaoru seemed shocked for a moment - but just a moment. He set his guard and charged in - only to run right into the waiting arms of the referee.

“The bell! That’s the bell, Iwai! To your corner!”

Mari shook her head in disbelief. She had been so wrapped up in the fight that even she didn’t hear the bell.

“And… And that’s the end of the first round! Oh my! What an exchange! What an incredible chin displayed by Kobayashi! The second-year shows his fortitude by standing up _effortlessly_ from that vicious punch! Iwai’s corner is in shock!”

Mari nodded absently, queuing up a replay of what happened on the small tablet the organizers had set up for her to use. Kobayashi didn’t have a glass jaw, but she had seen tougher fighters than the blonde drop due to that particular punch. Something else was going on. Kobayashi’s corner seemed different, now. Not relaxed. Not at all. They were looking at the center of the ring with anticipation.

With _confidence_.

>>>

“Kobayashi, how was it?” Coach Tomiya asked, kneeling beside his seated boxer.

Kobayashi shook his head. “It’s not just unfair. It’s completely insane. How the hell does a little shrimp like that pack that kind of power? That hook barely grazed my headgear and it still felt like it was going to break my neck!”

“Did you catch the timing?!” Tomiya insisted. 

Kobayashi glared across the ring at Kaoru, who was staring him down in return. “It’s not so easy, Coach. He’s gotten so much better since the Inter-high. Even then, he was annoying. Now, even thinking about stepping in to counter one of his punches gives me the chills.”

That was the double-edged sword that Kobayashi used. A counter-punch could turn the tide of a match; it could let him escape a sticky situation, like how he escaped the ropes in the first round. And timed with a perfect step in, it could turn all of Kaoru’s destructive power back on himself. But if Kobayashi got the timing wrong - if he lost courage when he needed it the most - then the result would be taking the full force of one of the shorter fighter’s thunderous punches in an incredibly vulnerable spot.

It was terrifying.

It was _thrilling_.

Kobayashi smiled slowly. “...But yeah. I caught the timing. That’s why I only got grazed. If he tries that again, they’ll need to carry him out on a stretcher.”

>>>

“What’s your condition, Iwai?”

“Good. I think I’ve got his rhythm down.” Kaoru said, thinking of his right hook. “He won’t get away from me again. He’s… He’s pretty amazing, though. His footwork and awareness are almost on par with Amamiya-senpai.”

Kaname nodded. “He is. And don’t forget it for a second, Iwai. If you get careless, if you rush, you’ll eat a counter. All you need to do is what we practiced, and you’ll be fine. You can win this!”

The referee shouted. “Seconds out!”

“Go on! Take it to him!” Kaname clapped Kaoru’s shoulder before stepping out of the ring.

Shinoda stood beside her, his arms crossed. The man with the walrus-like moustache glanced down at Kaname, whose only outward indication of her anxiety was the way that she clenched the towel draped over her shoulder. 

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

Kaname bit her lip for a second before shaking her head. “It isn’t like being Renpai’s second, Coach. With him, all I’d have to say is ‘look out for a counter to your smash’ or ‘he’s caught the timing of your chopping right’. Renpai would immediately adapt, or better yet, he’d purposely draw out the counter so he could counter _that_. Iwai isn’t the same kind of boxer. Iwai’s greatest strength is his ability to apply what he’s practiced to almost perfection. Just like I asked, all of his punches are compact and powerful enough to make a counter-puncher hesitate. The Gazelle Punch, even more so. If I tell him to look out for a counter and adapt, he’d overthink. He’d become dead-easy to counter.”

Kaname sighed. “Even worse, he might even stop trying to set up for the punch in the first place, which shuts down one of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal. One of the reasons he can close the distance so well right now is that Kobayashi _has_ to look out for a middle-range punch. Without that threat, he could just treat Kaoru like a sand bag.”

Kaname had seen what Kobayashi did in that split second where he was watching Kaoru’s Sunday punch. He wasn’t staring at it out of shock or fear. He was studying it - and he learned enough so that he was able to barely slip the punch. It would be dangerous for Kaoru to try the punch recklessly, but it would be equally foolish to shut it down. Boxing was an inherently risky sport. Even defensive fighters put their well-being on the line. For the style that Kaoru trained in, he had to be aggressive in order to win. It was inevitable that he’d eventually find himself in this position - where landing a potentially match-winning blow might mean putting himself on the canvas as well.

If he tried to make an on the fly adjustment for a counter that _might_ come, it could stall his offence completely.

Taking a counter punch was an accepted risk for any boxer who chose to fight this way.

But this wasn’t just any boxer. This was Kaoru - _her_ Kaoru.

She thought she understood before what her father was getting at during the summer training camp - when Ren had gone through that gruelling practice, and Shinji Takeda looked like he was just seconds away from throwing in the towel.

But now, even though Kaoru was looking good - even though he was chasing Kobayashi down and steadily weaving and bobbing around the sharp jabs - she couldn’t help but imagine what would happen if he got countered during the Gazelle Punch.

What if she threw in the towel too early and he thought she didn’t believe in him?

What if she threw the towel in too late and he was hurt because of her?

She took a deep breath.

It was going to be a long three minutes.

>>>

Things were going well, from Kaoru’s perspective. He was seeing the punches. He caught Kobayashi’s rhythm. He steadily bobbed and weaved into the taller boxer’s range; he punished attempts to wrestle and clinch with his powerful lower body, pounding hooks and uppercuts into Kobayashi’s midsection until he backed off. Right hooks cut off attempts to circle. Right straights shot in every time Kobayashi tried a check hook. Kaoru wasn’t hitting cleanly, but Kobayashi wasn’t hitting at _all_.

 _‘Almost there!’_ Kaoru felt exhilarated as the hard work and training he had put in beside Kaname paid off. He couldn’t afford to smile at her; Kobayashi was too good of a fighter for Kaoru to be even slightly distracted.

He bobbed under another left jab, crowding Kobayashi and getting in tight. His right arm shot up in a compact uppercut that Kobayashi barely got his guard on. It was still enough to stagger him. Kaoru immediately followed up, sensing an opportunity to end it. He pounded hooks and uppercuts into Kobayashi’s body. They felt good. This was his finishing pattern. His penultimate shot - a blow to Kobayashi’s liver - sent the bottle-blond stumbling back into a corner. There was nowhere to run. The distance was perfect. His guard was open, the right hand just a little too wide and high.

 _‘This is it!’_ Kaoru thought.

The crowd knew it too. The stadium roared - all ten thousand of them.

Kaoru lowered his hips. He exploded off his feet, leaping into the Gazelle Punch.

The impact of the glove against headgear rang out across the ring.

The audience thundered again. The referee started counting.

Kaoru stared up at the ceiling, wide-eyed.

_‘How… ...Why am I on my back? ...Why is it so hard to hear anything?’_

Kaname was screaming at him. She was beating the canvas with her hands. Slowly, Kaoru turned to face her. He squinted, bringing her into focus. Her eyes were wide with fear. He couldn’t quite make out her words.

“..ease wake up! KAORU! KAORU!”

She had tears in her eyes. That was odd.

“Kana...chan? ...Sorry. Coach…?”

“Call me whatever you want! Just sit up! Please!” Kaname shouted, uncharacteristically _pleading_ rather than _ordering_.

Kaoru sat up. Another voice came into sharp focus.

“Seven! Eight!”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. He sprang to his feet, taking his fighting stance. “I can fight!”

The referee frowned, staring closely at Kaoru. “...What’s your name?”

“Kaoru Iwai.”

“Where--”

“I’m in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium! This is the Winter Cup! I can fight!” Kaoru shouted, glaring over the referee’s shoulder at Kobayashi. His legs felt funny, heavy. That punch had done a lot of damage. But he couldn’t fall to it - his pride wouldn’t allow him to.

He would _not_ fall from such a familiar punch.

He wouldn’t let Kobayashi win using Ren’s chopping right.

>>>

“What an incredible counter!” Morikawa said. “Absolutely incredible.”

“The courage it took to do that…” Mari marveled. “If you had asked me at the Inter-high, I wouldn’t have guessed Kobayashi would ever have the guts to step _into_ the Gazelle Punch like that. And then to use an overhand right from above Iwai’s line of sight… How could he have such a perfect counter…?”

“! Iwai’s up! Iwai’s up, and able to fight! What a match! Are these two truly high school students?!” Morikawa exclaimed. “The match goes on!”

Mari watched with a grim expression on her face. _‘But for how much longer?’_

Iwai wasn’t charging in. It was clear that Kobayashi’s punch had taken a lot out of him. As he stood, his knees looked like they were shaking slightly. On top of that, Iwai wasn’t likely to use the Gazelle Punch again. All Kobayashi had to do was pick Iwai apart using his superior range and agility.

A sharp snap sounded out in the ring as Kobayashi tested the distance with a jab that thudded against Kaoru’s guard. The shorter boxer tightened his guard, bobbing and weaving to the best of his ability. With motionless legs, though, Kaoru was little better than a sandbag as Kobayashi continued peppering him with jabs over the final minute and a half of the round. A leading left hook went around his guard, catching the smaller boxer on the temple. He staggered, his guard opening. A savage one-two struck cleanly, nearly dropping Kaoru to his knees. Kobayashi moved in to finish him, his left snapping out to punch away Kaoru’s desperate attempt at a fending jab.

A right straight shot in towards Kaoru’s face - and then halted, mere centimetres away as the bell rang. He was saved by the bell. But as Mari watched him stagger to his corner, she wondered if it was merely a stay of execution for the young fighter.

>>>

“Kaoru! Kaoru, condition!?” Kaname practically yelled, carefully inspecting his eyes and checking for cuts. Shinoda also crouched in front of him, wiping sweat from his forehead and applying the enswell over his left eye.

“I can fight, Coach. I can fight!” Kaoru insisted, fiercely.

Kaname stared at Kaoru in silence. She glanced at Kaoru’s legs; his knees were still shaking slightly. Even before the devastating counter punch, it was taking a lot of energy for Kaoru to keep up with Kobayashi’s brilliant footwork - both from a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint. Kaname knew that getting rewarded for all of that work with a counter punch against his best weapon should be a devastating mental blow as well.

But, getting hit with the punch that ‘belonged’ to Ren seemed to just fire him up. Kaoru was willing to go. He looked like he _had_ to go. He looked like he had a score to settle.

Kaname took hold of his face, gripping him by the headgear he wore. “Do you have something left, Kaoru?”

“I do, Kana-chan.” Kaoru nodded firmly. “I can’t let it end like this.”

“...Alright, then.”

The referee waved his arms. “Seconds out!”

“Then show me what you have left, Kaoru. I believe in you.”

“Thanks, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said.

The referee crossed his arms. “Box!”

Kaname watched as Kaoru moved forward from the corner. His legs were no longer visibly shaky, but he certainly didn’t shoot forward at Kobayashi like a rocket anymore. His approach was slow and methodical because it had to be. Against an inexperienced boxer, Kaoru might have been able to intimidate them into a corner. But from Kobayashi’s aggressive movements, Kaname could tell he knew - that shot had been incredibly damaging to Kaoru.

Kaname held the towel out to Shinoda. “Coach… Please. I can’t be objective right now. If… If he looks like he’s in danger… if it looks like we need to save the boxer…”

Shinoda just nodded, taking the towel. “Your father would be proud of you right now, Kaname-chan. You’re making the right decision.”

Kaname shook her head. Right now, she couldn’t care about that. It was taking everything she had to just watch over him.

>>>

Kaoru’s hands were going numb under his gloves as Kobayashi punched with impunity. His legs still felt heavy, but at least they were responding enough for him to bob under the occasional hook that his opponent sent around his shield-like guard. He knew things weren’t looking good. The referee had already called a standing eight count early in this final round to check on his condition. The man had let the match go on, probably because he sensed how badly Kaoru wanted to continue.

But if he called another standing eight, that would likely be the end of the match.

Kaoru winced as Kobayashi darted in, slamming a hard hook under his guard and into his midsection. Briefly in range, Kaoru responded with his own uppercut to Kobayshi’s solar plexus, barely missing. The crowd gasped at the power of the blow, evident even from the stands.

But it was useless if he couldn’t get close enough to hit.

 _‘What do I do? What can I do?’_ Kaoru thought, doing his best to withstand the onslaught. He had to be completely behind on points, now. His only hope was a turnaround knockout, and his best weapon was--

“Kaoru!” Kaname yelled, slapping her palms on the canvas. “Is the Gazelle Punch the only thing you practiced?! DIdn’t you say you had something left to show me!? What was it all for!? Why did you train so hard?!”

Kaoru reeled as an arrow-like jab snapped his head back. He narrowly dodged the ‘two’, the right straight aimed directly at his chin. Kaoru stepped in with a jab of his own; Kobayashi backstepped immediately. Shujin’s featherweight hopeful braced for the punishing combination that would follow his miss - but it never came. Blinking, Kaoru watched as Kobayashi stared him down, just outside his range. The blonde boxer’s storm of jabs and straights had abated.

_‘Of course. He doesn’t even have to punch anymore. He can just wait to win on points. He--!’_

Kobayashi almost snarled; he moved in, aiming hooks and uppercuts around Kaoru’s guard. Kaoru tightened up, blocking or absorbing the blows.

_‘That’s not it. That’s not it at all. He’s pushing the attack! He’s--’_

“He’s _afraid_ , Kaoru! He knows you can turn this around with a single punch so he’s trying to finish you before you can! SO TAKE IT TO HIM! LAY HIM THE FUCK OUT!” Kaname screamed. The referee frowned, turning to give her a warning for language--

Kaoru blew by, summoning reserves he didn’t know he had until this moment. Suddenly, the grueling training made sense. Why Kaname so gleefully called ‘one more’ after calling ‘last one’ on so many of their drills. It was to show him that he always had more to give. _That’s_ what it was all for. That’s why he trained so hard.

This was his moment. This was _his_ ring!

Kaoru slipped a jab; a second one immediately followed as Kobayashi attempted the extended left that Ren had demonstrated to Kaoru weeks ago. Kaoru had seen it; like all of Ren’s demonstrations, he had burned it into his mind. He dropped his hips, sinking below the jab. He loaded up his weight on his left foot. The distance was perfect. His posture was perfect.

From Kobayashi’s point of view, Kaoru looked like a loaded missile. This was the Gazelle Punch.

Kaoru committed to the punch; Kobayashi stood his ground, already starting the motion for the chopping right counter.

Kobayashi had obviously spent countless hours on honing the punch, adding it to his arsenal. It was an almost picture-perfect replica of Ren’s technique.

And it was that perfect mimicry that was Kobayashi’s downfall.

Kaoru saw it. He saw the lines of the punch. He knew the path it would take from the countless times he had watched Ren utilize it. The brutal overhand right sliced down at him so hard and fast that it cut open his cheek. It cut open his cheek because it _grazed_ him. He had taken a wider step to the left, moving _outside_ the path of the punch.

Kobayashi’s eyes widened. His reflexes were truly incredible - he brought his right hand back to cover his face. A block wasn’t ideal; he would still take damage from the savage power of the leaping shovel hook as it hit him over his guard, but it would allow him to recover.

Kaoru grit his teeth, summoning everything he had for this final rush. He leapt forward - and slammed his left fist into Kobayashi’s wide-open abdomen.

>>>

_‘This is it! I have him!’_

Kobayashi’s right hand lanced down at Kaoru. Kobayashi had watched Ren’s fights _ad nauseum_ on video to learn the move. It was such beautiful irony that the captain of Shujin Boxing had such a perfect counter for his own kouhai. After all the work Kobayashi had put in, this was now a conditioned reflex. His mind saw Kaoru, crouched almost below his sight line, his left hand tight against his body, his left foot planted in almost a direct line in front of Kobayashi’s right foot--

Kobayashi’s eyes widened.

His foot. His foot was on the _outside_. 

Already committed to the punch, he didn’t even have time to abort the punch. The chopping right was perfect. It was so hard and clean that it even cut open a line on his rival’s cheek… as it _passed_. Reflexively, Kobayashi pulled his hand back to cover his face.

And then it felt like someone tore a chunk out of his side.

His eyes bulged; he gasped, barely managing to keep his mouthguard in as he felt the full effect of the murderously hard liver blow. All the nerve fibers around the distressed organ sent action potentials in a screaming cacophony down his autonomic nervous system, starting an irrevocable cascade of events. Kobayashi felt sudden nausea and cold sweats as his heart rate dropped precipitously and his blood vessels dilated. His blood pressure was in his boots.

His body _demanded_ that he fall.

But he refused. There were only seconds left in the match. He just had to stay standing. He had to--

_‘Where is he?! Where the fuck is he?!’_

He looked down.

Kaoru was crouched almost below his sight line. His left hand was tight against his body. His left foot was planted directly in line with Kobayashi’s right.

_‘Oh, shit--’_

>>>

“GAZELLE PUNCH! A SECOND GAZELLE PUNCH! KOBAYASHI IS DOWN! KOBAYASHI IS DOOOOOOWN!” Morikawa screamed into the microphone as Kaoru’s punch exploded, knocking Kobayshi flat on his back. 

Mari stared in shock. “That wasn’t just two Gazelle Punches… The first punch had the same starting stance, but turned into a liver blow. It opened him up for the second one to the temple. Two full-power lefts from Iwai…”

“Was that first one a feint, then?!”

“Nothing like that.” Mari said. “Not consciously. The chopping right… It’s something Iwai has seen countless times from his senpai. It’s likely been burned into his mind. He just did everything he could to avoid it, and even then he only barely did it. After that, he just applied his training. That was a picture-perfect liver blow. Then a perfect Gazelle Punch. That’s what’s truly incredible. At the end of his stamina, in this high stress situation, he still has absolute faith in his trainer, absolute dedication to his training.”

“Incredible! An incredible turnaround KO! The referee’s counting! The crowd is counting! Is this really high school boxing!? Kobayashi’s struggling to stand! Will he have the will to do it?!”

“Will has nothing to do with it.” Mari said, shaking her head. “A punch to the liver causes your blood pressure to drop. And that shot to the jaw is like shutting off the switch to your legs. He’ll--Oh my _God_.”

“GO! GO! U-SU-DA! GO! GO! KO-BAY-A-SHI! GO! GO! U-SU-DA! GO! GO! KO-BAY-A-SHI!”

The crowd roared, responding to the Usuda boxer’s perseverance. Kobayashi grabbed the ropes. He dragged himself to his feet, gasping for breath. He looked pale, but his eyes were alive. He let go of the ropes. He turned to face Kaoru.

Kaoru’s jaw dropped. The Shujin fighter looked terrible as well. His cut was bleeding; he was drenched in sweat. Shock was replaced with grim resolve as he raised his guard.

“Kobayashi! Take your fighting stance!” The referee called, halting the count at seven.

Kobayashi started to raise his hands, staring down Kaoru with a cold glare.

Mari’s eyes shot to the scoreboard. There were only two seconds left. Kobayashi was ahead on points. If this went to decision, it would end the same way as the Inter-high. There was no way Kaoru could close the distance and finish this in that time. If Kobayashi could just get his hands up.

“...Tch.” Kobayashi’s intense glare faded to a small, rueful smile.

His hands wouldn’t respond; he couldn’t raise his arms. It was taking everything he had to even stand and face the boxer who had defeated him.

“...Eight! Nine! Ten!”

The bell rang for the end of the match. The arena exploded in cheers.

“That’s it! That’s the end of the match! The Winter Cup Featherweight Champion is Kaoru Iwai!”

“IWAI! IWAI! IWAI!” The crowd screamed, led by Shujin’s section. The sea of black uniforms was in turn led by Munehisa Iwai, once again pounding on the taiko drum.

Mari shook her head. “That… that was incredible. Not just ‘for a high school fight’. That was an incredible boxing match.”

Kaoru’s corner team entered the ring; Mari chuckled as Kaname impulsively jumped onto Kaoru, throwing her arms over his shoulders as she hugged him. Tears streamed down her face; she had a huge smile on her face. The cheers from the crowd, and Shujin especially, increased several decibels. The audience rippled with laughter as Kaname suddenly remembered herself; she immediately let go of Kaoru, turning bright red as she instead stared scolding him for various things that had happened during the match. The tongue-lashing only stopped when Kobayashi approached Kaoru, leaning heavily on his coach.

The two exchanged words and a handshake before Kobayashi left the ring to the victor; the rest of Shujin Boxing met Kaoru at ringside, insisting on carrying the embarrassed fighter out on their shoulders.

Mari noted that Ren was conspicuous by his absence.

_‘Makes sense. His turn is coming up… Hope you make it worth my while, Amamiya. Your kouhai has set the bar pretty high.’_

>>>

Around twenty minutes.

Three rounds, at three minutes each. One minute between rounds. Around five minutes to get the previous fighters out and the next fighters in. Time for tallying points and other miscellaneous things.

So in all, around twenty minutes before it was time. Twenty minutes before the last fight of his high school boxing career, win or lose.

Ren sat on the bench in the locker room that he had been ushered into as the ‘second on deck’ fighter for the red corner. He stared down at his hands; his grey eyes were sharp with focus. He felt like he could describe every single fiber of the black cloth tape that wrapped them. Idly, he turned them to look at his palms, and then his knuckles. He thought back to the last time he had studied them in silence like this. It was in the attic, before it became _his_ attic. Before he filled it with memories, some good, some bad, but all eventful. All significant.

Back then, he thought that his boxing had come to an end; he thought that his _life_ was going to come to an end.

The last time he studied his hands like this, he had never felt more alone.

Today was different. Today was an end, certainly - it was the end of this particular chapter, but also the beginning of the next. And he wasn’t alone.

“Wildcard!” Ann shouted suddenly as the stopwatch she held beeped.

Ren’s eyes flashed; he leapt to his feet. His hands cut into the air as he shadowboxed in the open space of the room, breathing sharply through pursed lips. His rhythm was perfect; his steps light. His arms and fists relaxed until the exact moment of imagined impact. Three jabs at varying angles; a shoulder roll and bob into a chopping right into a smash and back into a flicker. He saw nothing but the shadow of his opponent. He started to smile.

“Time!” Ann called.

Ren stopped immediately, closing his eyes. Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

This had been the story of the last hour. Warm ups every twenty minutes, followed by this controlled breathing. Kaname was busy with Kaoru’s fight; Shinji was likely still ensuring Hayato’s father didn’t bolt. Ann, the unofficial assistant manager of Shujin Boxing, had been left in charge of him. And truthfully, he wouldn’t have wanted anyone else at this moment.

He emptied his mind; he counted his breaths.

_‘One… Two… Three--’_

He parried Ann’s sudden jab with his right. She was standing in an orthodox stance, showing the results of training alongside the boxing club on a fairly regular basis. This too, was part of Ren’s warm-up. The cycle of shadow boxing and meditation, interspersed with these sudden, random attacks. He was supposed to just parry and return a jab. Instead, he took hold of her hand; he cocked his head as he looked at her.

In his current state of focus, he realized, the love of his life was almost blinding. He studied her like he studied his hands; he felt like he could trace each individual radial ridge of her cerulean eyes. He could see her pupils dilate as she stared back. Her cheeks flushed, blooming under his vision.

It was such a wasted opportunity that he never thought to look at Ann with his Thief’s Eye, back when he still had it. He wondered if it would have been even better than this. He smiled softly at her.

She returned the smile; she turned her hand to squeeze his; she touched his cheek with the other.

“You’re supposed to return with a jab, Wildcard…”

“This is better.” Ren replied, simply.

She chuckled softly. “Sit. You’re supposed to sit, now.”

He sat back down on the bench; Ann sat at his side, still holding his hand.

After a few moments there was a knock on the door. “Amamiya-senshu! Ten minutes!”

Ren exhaled slowly. “...How do I look, Songbird?”

Ann stood up; she moved in front of him, placing one knee on the bench beside him. She gently took hold of him, placing her hands on either side of his neck. She rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes.

He found himself closing his own eyes; following the pace of Ann’s breathing. He had thought he was calm before. But somehow, this settled his heart further, quashing vestiges of anxiety he hadn’t even realized were there. When he slowly opened his eyes, she was still in front of him, feeling his pulse through her palms.

She smiled; she kissed him.

“Perfect. You look perfect, Wildcard.”

“That’s my line.” Ren replied, returning the smile. He stood up, putting on his red and black boxing gloves.

There was another knock on the door as Shinji Takeda let himself in, followed by his daughter. Shinji nodded once to Ann.

“Thank you, Takamaki-san.”

Ann returned the nod, stepping back. Shinji and Kaname took her place. Each Takeda tightened the laces and taped the wrists of Ren’s gloves. Shinji didn’t mention anything about Hayanari Miyazawa; Ren didn’t even think to ask. Not a single word was exchanged. Shinji and Kaname finished. Shinji looked over Ren critically, head to toe.

“...Hmph.” He turned, heading down the tunnel. “Let’s go, kid.”

“Yes, Coach.”

Ren followed without another word, rolling his shoulders and bouncing lightly as he moved, the beginnings of a crooked smile on his face.

Ann blinked. “That’s it? That’s all they need to say to each other? It’s the first time Shinji-san’s seen Ren since yesterday afternoon…”

Kaname lifted her head with pride as she followed her father and boxer down the hall. “Otou-san could have been gone for a year, and it would be the same. That’s all those two have ever needed.”

>>>

“And now, this is one of the most, if not _the_ most highly anticipated match of the day! Two former gym mates will face each other down in the boys’ welterweight finals. In the red corner, at sixty-six kilograms and 180 centimetres, we have Ren ‘Wildcard’ Amamiya! Will he match his kouhai’s spectacular performance earlier today?! Or will he fall to his old friend, Hayato ‘Hayabusa’ Miyazawa?! Miyazawa-senshu stands at sixty-seven kilograms and 176 centimetres. Minoru-san, what are your thoughts on this battle between captains?!”

Mari watched as Ren and Hayato each swung their arms and bounced lightly on their feet in their corners, facing away from the center of the ring. “ _Too many_ thoughts, Morikawa-san. These two have been on a collision course since Miyazawa paid Amamiya a visit after the Fall Nationals. Like Kobayashi and Iwai, these two have been preparing for the Winter Cup with only each other in mind as their goal. They’ve both been playing their cards close to the vest this entire tournament, but I can tell you one thing - this is a match between the best ‘one-twos’ in high school boxing.”

“Will it come down to basics, then?”

“There isn’t anything ‘basic’ about it.” Mari said, watching as the two boys approached the center of the ring. The referee again inspected their gloves and headgear before having them touch gloves. “Amamiya prefers a flicker jab to chopping right combination - highly effective because of the way he takes advantage of unexpected sight lines and angles with his left, and then the sudden upward turn of his elbow on the right allows him to go over his opponent’s guard. The rotational component to his right makes it almost as powerful as a hook, but delivered from the range of a straight. As for Miyazawa, his one-two dominates the center lane with its sheer speed and sharpness. If you like hyperbole, some people have compared his punches to shots fired from a semi-automatic pistol.”

“Incredible. Now, what--...Oh? This is exciting! I’m hearing from our producers that we’re about to have _another_ very special guest commentator here today!”

A chair was hurriedly placed beside Mari. She sighed, relieved. This meant she could spend more time watching the fight instead of having to provide commentary. She looked up. “Good afternoon--...”

Morikawa beamed as the crowd noticed the new guest, cheers and applause filling the arena. “Joining us here tonight is the former WBC Lightweight champion and current WBC Welterweight number one contender, Mamoru Yamanaka!”

Minoru’s jaw dropped.

Yamanaka, wearing a professional charcoal suit to go with his neatly trimmed goatee and ponytail, took a seat. He smiled politely at Mari and Morikawa. “Thank you. It should be an interesting--”

“You _ass!_ You flaked on our interview because you were too busy, but you have time to come and watch high school boxing?!”

>>>

Shinji spared a glance at the commotion going on at the ringside announcers’ table. That reporter, Mari Minoru, was beating WBC Welterweight contender Mamoru Yamanaka over the head with a yellow legal pad. For a moment, he was concerned that the appearance of Ren’s hero would be a distraction. But that concern vanished the moment he checked back on his ward.

Ren was looking across the ring at Hayato; the faintest little smile was on the black-haired boxer’s face.

In the past, Shinji might have been annoyed at that expression. When Ren boxed out of Kamakura, he had a habit of showboating during fights. Especially when Reiko was present. That bravado was born from the ignorance of youth and an irrational feeling of invincibility. After all, he was a naturally talented fighter with a ‘sense’ for boxing that was something God-given, not trained.

The Ren in front of him now was different. Shinji still had no idea what really happened during Ren’s year on probation, nor did he have any intention of asking. In their unspoken conversations - their training sessions - during spring break, Golden Week, and the summer training camp, Ren had told Shinji that he had no intention of ever telling him. But what happened wasn’t as important as what Ren had gained and lost. He gained a sense of caution and awareness beyond his natural aptitude, and lost that foolish, youthful bravado.

Now, the confident smile that he bore was a product of hard training and a settled heart.

Last year, Shinji told Ren that he was incomplete.

He probably still was. But he was closer than he had ever been.

The bell rang.

“Box!” The referee crossed his arms.

Both fighters approached the center, light on their feet. Ren in his Detroit style stance, his left hand low, his right closer to his jaw. His body and feet were at the usual orthodox angles. Shinji hadn’t seen Hayato fight in person in years, but the boy’s stance was still the same. Orthdox, but with that extended leading left that he favored. He extended it a little further, as if aiming to touch gloves with Ren again despite the fact that the match had started. An optional courtesy in boxing.

Ren extended his left hand as well.

They both paused, their hands separated by the distance of one glove. They looked at each other; their feet and shoulders stilled.

Hayato raised his eyebrow.

Ren smirked.

Simultaneously, they snatched their left hands back, not bothering to touch gloves. Ren’s chopping right passed harmlessly by as Hayato swayed back, barely dodging. Hayato’s right straight was narrowly slipped to the outside by Ren. The two immediately went into top gear, moving circles around each other as flicker jabs whipped at Hayato from strange angles, forcing him to slip and parry. Off-rhythm jabs from that extended left shot towards Ren’s face, easily parried or blocked for the most part except for the occasional leading left hook that kept the Shujin captain on his toes.

The crowd was completely silenced at the sudden display of brilliant footwork and jabs; the way these two fought across the ring was above and beyond anything that had been shown through the entire tournament. Neither scored a clean hit; jabs were parried or slipped as fast as they were thrown. Straights and hooks hit nothing but air.

Even Shinji was taken aback. The exchange was almost too fast to follow. He had seen this before from these two before Hayato moved away - each of them had brilliant hand speed and awareness, each of them had the potential to develop a left hand that could rule the world: Ren, with his deceptively flexible flicker jab, and Hayato, with his blazingly fast ‘motionless left’, thrown without a single telegraphing movement from the shoulder or elbow. Three years later, each fighter had only added volumes of experience and skill to their talent.

And on top of that, this was their first time facing each other in official high school competition, at the biggest tournament of the year. It was only fitting that their first greeting was so enthusiastic.

As fast and refined as it was, the high speed exchange of opening jabs ended in the same way it usually did when Shinji coached the two of them in middle school.

Hayato’s jab was a work of art - the boxer-puncher’s lefts shot forward from his extended leading hand like they were fired from a gun. Compared to Ren’s jabs, starting from somewhere between his waist and his collarbone, Hayato’s punches simply had a shorter distance to go.

Ren’s head snapped back; sweat flew from his face as Hayato finally struck cleanly.

With a triumphant grin, his right shot forward in the most basic of boxing combinations, the one-two. His grin turned into a grimace as Ren’s left struck him in the solar plexus from below, stopping his right. He let out a surprised and irritated yell as the black-haired boxer then stiff-armed him. His left jab came up, but he didn’t bother to pull his hand back. Instead, he briefly placed his forearm against Hayato’s neck, using it to drive his weight into his shoulder and force him off balance for a split second.

Ren’s overhand right nearly took Hayato’s head off during his minimal stumble. The boy with gunmetal blue eyes backstepped and raised his guard, grinning fiercely at his old friend.

Ren’s little smirk broadened to return the feral smile.

At the pause in the action, the crowd seemed to remember to breathe all at once - and then roared into cheers and applause.

Shinji leaned forward in anticipation. “The greeting’s over, now.”

“What do you mean, Otou-san?” Kaname asked, feeling the tension in the ring rise.

“The boys are reacquainted properly, now. They’ve shown each other that they remember what they used to be like. And now…” Shinji watched as the two started circling again, just out of range of each other. “Now they’ll show each other how they’ve changed.”

>>>

_‘No. I can’t go back to who I was, Haya-kun. Going back is impossible. But I’m going to show you how I’ve grown.’_

Hayato smiled grimly as he closed in on Ren. He had essentially told Ren to put up or shut up, and that opening exchange told Hayato everything he needed to know. There was real intent in every one of the Shujin boxer’s punches. His fighting spirit was evident in the sharpness of his movements; his resolute heart clear in his grey eyes. Even if Ren hadn’t remembered the promise they made, Hayato could feel the weight of his old friend’s fists: Ren Amamiya hadn’t turned into some useless boxer while the two were separated.

He was here to win, and he was willing to cut Hayato down to do it.

Hayato was beyond ecstatic.

“Let’s do this, Ren-chan!” He snarled.

Hayato darted forward into range, jabbing as he stepped in. He grinned; he felt solid impact from each of his jabs as they shot toward Ren’s chin, barely blocked by Ren’s right hand. That was always the trouble with the ‘Detroit style’ stance Ren favored. While it let him jab from strange angles, it dropped his left hand away from the space between him and his opponent. It meant that Ren had to parry or block with only his right hand, allowing Hayato’s faster ‘motionless left’ to fully suppress Ren’s dangerous chopping right.

Ren used it fearlessly because he was used to being faster than his opponents. But like Ren, Hayato’s one-two could strike almost simultaneously. Hayato’s jab struck Ren’s palm. His right shot forward as the ‘two’, aimed directly at the side of Ren’s jaw, lined perfectly to Hayato in profile.

In _profile_. Ren’s angle was now almost perpendicular to how he was standing.

Hayato’s eyes widened in surprise; his right hand struck the _back_ of Ren’s left shoulder as the Shujin boxer expertly rolled it forward. Ren’s glare was steel as he looked over the shoulder he used to block; his right fist was cocked and ready by his own jaw. Ren chained the motion of rolling his left shoulder back into turning his body square to Hayato again, unloading a vicious chopping right into his former gym mate’s face.

>>>

“WILDCARD!” - _Thump thump-_ “WILDCARD!” _-Thump thump-_

“And the crowd goes _wild_ ! Led by Vague’s Ann Takamaki, Shujin Academy _roars_ as Amamiya’s chopping right cuts down Miyazawa! He’s hurt! Miyazawa’s hurt! He stumbles back, his guard down! Shujin’s captain isn’t letting this opportunity get away! Miyazawa takes more jabs! Another right! Minoru-san, Yamanaka-san! What happened?! Why have the tables turned so suddenly?!”

Mari frantically swiped at her tablet. She actually missed it. Something was different about Ren’s stance in the split second where he parried Hayato’s right straight. Before she knew it, the chopping right was already in, Miyazawa was stumbling back. Flicker jabs lashed into Hayato’s face like a whip and opened the way for another right, catching him before the Arima boxer managed to get his guard up. Ren trapped him against the ropes, viciously laying combinations into Hayato’s guard and body.

Yamanaka blinked, looking up from the cat’s cradle he had made with a bit of string he found in his pocket. “Oh. You missed that, Minoru-san? He used the Philly Crab Shell defense just there. Well, actually, Mayweather’s variation of it. It was pretty good.”

“ _God_ , you’re annoying.” Mari snapped irritatedly as she found the instant replay. She coughed. “Y-yes. Amamiya turned his body side-on towards Miyazawa, placing his left shoulder directly in line with the ‘center’ lane. It’s a highly defensive posture used famously by Floyd Mayweather. Amamiya did three things that turned the tables on Miyazawa. First, he caught Miyazawa’s left with the palm of his right glove. Then, he rolled his left shoulder forward just enough to block the straight from hitting his jaw. And finally, he rolled his shoulder back again while simultaneously squaring his body back up to Miyazawa and launching the chopping right.”

“Not only that, but it was amazingly deceptive. He gradually shifted his stance so that Miyazawa-kun wouldn’t notice. Also, his posture hid the motion for his right, and he chained the turning motion of his body into the punch itself.” Yamanaka added. “It amplified the power of his right even further.”

“I’d say so!” Morikawa exclaimed. “Miyazawa is _still_ on the ropes! Is this the end?! Is it a one round KO?!”

Things looked bad from the announcer’s table. Hayato was covering his face, Ren’s rush was relentless and rough. Flicker jabs turned into forearm crushes and stiff arms that shoved Hayato around and off balance; chopping rights, straights, and hooks pounded into his guard or body. Ren barely dodged a desperate left from Hayato, grimacing and narrowing his eyes. He lowered his hips and left hand.

“He loads up for the smash!”

Hayato’s eyes widened behind his guard. He quickly lowered his right hand to block the punch coming from below - and was nearly decapitated by the powerful left hook that came in wide.

“He’s down! Miyazawa is _down-- He grabs the ropes to stay on his feet!_ How hungry is he to win!? Amamiya moves in for the finish!”

Ren stood over Hayato, his right hand cocked to deliver another chopping right to his staggered opponent. Hayato stared up at Ren; his hands on the ropes, his legs shaking from the hook, he couldn’t even get his guard up. This one was going to hurt.

The referee courageously dove between the boys, grabbing Ren’s arm as the bell rang.

“The bell! That’s the bell, Amamiya! To your corner!”

Ren, panting, stared blankly at the referee for a moment. He then nodded curtly and turned away, returning to the red corner.

The referee looked at Miyazawa. “Miyazawa. Can you continue?”

“Wh… who the _hell_ do you think you’re talkin’ to?” Hayato growled. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.

>>>

“Condition, Renpai?”

“Fine.” Ren said, calmly. He stared across the ring at Hayato, his grey eyes not leaving his opponent for a second. It nearly gave Kaname chills to watch him. It reminded her of the time during her training camp for Ren’s friends during the summer last year, when she crossed the line with Ann. Back then, Ren had lost his temper during their sparring match, showing her a fury she didn’t know he was capable of.

This wasn’t the same - it was even more frightening. He was relaxed; he even chuckled lightly as the Idiot Twins standing in Shujin’s section in the stands mimicked some of the female fans in falsetto.

“Kyaaaa~ Amamiya-senpai!” Eiji screeched.

“Have my babies, senpai!” Shou yelled, drawing strange looks from the girls who had been previously screaming for the boxer’s attention during the break between rounds. It was a weird but effective way to silence the fangirls that were annoying Ann - even in the heat of the match, the two former delinquents were looking out for their aniki’s girl.

This time, he was in full control of his strength and emotion. The cold fury he showed just moments earlier when he was preparing to finish off his old friend was his to summon and dismiss at will. This was Ren’s true boxing. Not the outboxing dancer he was in his last match before Shido set him up. Not the boxer-puncher technician he was for most of the season.

His boxing was merciless ferocity delivered with the controlled precision of Takeda training.

“Good.” Kaname said. She glanced at her father, who was holding the water bottle for Ren to sip. Even though he was here, he was letting her run the show. It warmed her heart to know that he trusted her so far Ren. “Miyazawa was in a pretty vulnerable spot for you to unload that last chopping right on, Renpai.”

Ren glanced at Kaname. He nodded fractionally. “It was a chance to finish it, Kana-chan. His eyes were alive even after the beating I gave him. If I don’t go after him with everything I have, he’s going to take it to me.”

Kaname sighed. “...Good. I’m glad you see it too.” She wasn’t asking for his motivations because she disapproved. She agreed with him. Miyazawa was brilliant, easily on par with Ren. If Ren backed off for even a moment, if he didn’t fight with the intention to finish it, then he’d almost certainly lose. “I think he’s got something waiting, Renpai. In the quarterfinals, his punch blew through a tight guard for a knockout out of nowhere. Keep your guard up.”

Ren nodded. His eyes still on Hayato, he touched his cheek, glancing at Kaname. “Do I have a cut here?”

Kaname blinked. She shook her head as she inspected him. “No. Not at all.”

“...Huh. Weird.” Ren murmured.

“Seconds out!” The referee called.

Ren pounded his gloves together, standing up. The threat of an as-of-yet unseen punch didn’t seem to intimidate him in the slightest. If anything, he looked _excited_.

“Show me what you got, Haya-kun!”

>>>

“Box!”

Ren approached Hayato in his trademark stance. Shujin Boxing’s banner hung behind him from the stands, proudly displaying 一期一会 (One Life, One Encounter). And even if the raucous Shujin crowd seated above the banner _wasn’t_ cheering their hearts out, he could still feel the collective will of his friends and family pushing him forward, led by Ann.

“Go, go, go for it Shujin!”

“GO, GO, GO FOR IT SHUJIN!”

“Burn, burn, burn it up Shujin!”

“BURN, BURN, BURN IT UP SHUJIN!”

“ _Wildcard_ , fiiiiight!”

“OH!”

“Oh Captain, my Captain!” Ryuji yelled. Even as Ren focused on Hayato, the shout drew a wry smile from him. Ryuji had been studying. Of course, the poem referenced a captain who _died_ , but as always, his best friend’s enthusiasm was appreciated.

Hayato waited for him in the center of the ring. Ren approached cautiously. The brilliant technician from Kyoto was like a wounded animal right now - a _cornered_ wounded animal, to boot. The smart move would be to pick Hayato apart from a distance, to use his slight height advantage as much as possible. He could probably win on points if he was careful and defensive.

With a crooked smile, Ren dashed in, closing the distance in an instant.

Of course, for the boxer known as ‘Wildcard’, the best defense was a good offense.

He snapped two jabs and a right into Hayato’s guard from his open stance; he shifted his feet to the Philly Shell when Hayato returned with his own punches. Still alive, still almost too fast to follow. Hayato stared Ren down, breathing through pursed lips. His eyes sparkled; he even had the beginnings of a smile. Despite his precarious state, Hayato was having fun, too. And it meant he hadn’t given up.

_‘But it doesn’t matter if you can’t break this, Haya-kun!’_

Ren smoothly switched in and out of the defensive stance. It was just like what he and Kaname planned. As much as she thought she wasn’t up to her father’s level yet, she was already a brilliant trainer in her own right.

_‘Remember, Renpai. What made Mayweather great isn’t the fact that he uses this defense. It’s the fact that he can float in and out of it unpredictably; he changed what was a static defense into something dynamic. He learned to use his opponent’s reaction to the stance itself. If you do the same, you’ll make a technician like Miyazawa second-guess his own instincts. He’ll overthink - and then you’ll have him…’_

Ren turned up the heat, unleashing his entire arsenal into his opponent. His jabs and overhand rights thudded into his guard; he fired a smash intentionally into the inside of Hayato’s right forearm, blowing open his guard. Ren drove jabs and short leading hooks into the opening, sending Hayato reeling. When he tightened his guard again, Ren switched to the body. Whenever he had a chance, he roughed up his opponent with barely legal forearm crushes, stiff arms and collars.

Shujin’s cheers thundered; a pall lowered over Arima’s supporters as their captain was progressively buried.

_‘And now he’ll panic. I’m open. He’ll aim for a counter…!’_

Ren quickly turned into the Shell, raising his right hand to catch the jab that Hayato fired. He barely registered an odd scratching sound at the end of the punch, but didn’t have time to consider what it meant. He winced as Hayato managed to graze him with the punch. The ‘two’ of Hayato’s combination struck almost simultaneously; Ren turned his shoulder in a repeat of the first round, taking the hard right straight to the back of his left shoulder.

He turned back, his chopping right already coming for the counter to the counter.

Hayato was targeting him with another jab. Ren raised his left fist in perfect position to parry, committing fully to his chopping right. It was already close to the end of the second round. He could finish this _right now_.

Hayato punched. His left shot in, struck his parry - and somehow slipped past, crashing into Ren’s face.

Ren’s head snapped back, his chopping right fully stopped.

And then he was nearly brought to his knees as Hayato threw his entire body weight into a shot to Ren’s right flank, right over his liver.

Ren didn’t buckle. He backstepped, taking the Shell defense. His feet were flat on the canvas and unmoving. He remembered Kaname’s words too late.

_‘He’ll overthink - and then you’ll have him... But you have to keep moving! If you stop moving your feet, it just turns into a cross-block. Miyazawa’s good enough to find a way to thread a needle past that.’_

Hayato moved in aggressively. His left jab shot forward and seemed to strike Ren’s guard - but now, that subtle sound was louder, sharper - and his fist struck Ren’s face for the second time, blowing through the guard.

Ren shook it off. He tightened his shoulder, making the subtle move to roll his shoulder in the way. He felt Hayato’s glove contact his skin - and then slide off, directly into his jaw. He took Hayato’s right head-on. His guard opened; his left shoulder fell back.

Hayato made no mistake, snapping Ren’s head back with two jabs and a hard straight. The 1-1-2 combination stunned the boxer known as Wildcard, making him take a step back. His guard completely fell apart as Hayato poured it on. His boxing was different from Ren’s - not as powerful, but faster. Jabs and straights stabbed into Ren like blows from a rapier. He was rough too, after a fashion. His extended left obscured Ren’s vision and stymied his right; he punched at Ren’s hands in a way that was bordering on palming and pushing. Both boxers were skilled enough and hungry enough to win that they employed tactics in the grey zone of legality.

He prized open Ren’s guard with a cunning hook that was little more than a hard shove of Ren’s guard, slamming home two right straights in quick succession.

The ten thousand in attendance broke into pandemonium as Ren’s knee touched the canvas, officially knocked down for the first time in official competition.

Ren stared at the canvas, wide-eyed in shock.

_‘The hell was that?!’_

“Down!” The referee called, beginning the count. Ren almost sprang to his feet - or tried to - until he caught himself.

_‘It’s a ten count. Stay down until the eight. Think. What happened? How did he get through my guard?’_

“..Two! Three!..”

Ren replayed the moment in his mind’s eye. He was burying Hayato. He moved in to finish him. He used his right to parry with the bare minimum of motion to ensure he was in position for the chopping right, only getting grazed by the jab. He timed the shoulder roll to catch the right perfectly. Then Hayato threw another jab that slipped past--

“Five! Six!”

_‘It didn’t just slip past. It hit my hand first! What the hell did he do?’_

He glanced at his corner as Kaname screamed at him, slamming her palm on the canvas.

“HEY! Renpai!” Kaname yelled. “Corkscrew! It was a corkscrew!”

>>>

Makoto frowned, watching from the stands. Shujin’s cheering section had become deathly quiet at the turn of events, allowing her to almost hear what Kaname yelled. It seemed important - Ren nodded sharply to his trainer before returning his eyes to Hayato. He waited patiently, clearly deciding to wait until the eight count to stand up.

“Huh. Why would she want a corkscrew?” Ryuji mumbled, sitting forward and leaning on his elbows as he looked at Ren with more than a little concern. “I can’t see how that’d help RenRen.”

“Corkscrew?”

Ryuji nodded. “Yeah. S’what she said. ‘Get me a corkscrew’.”

Makoto gasped. “Wait. No. She said _it was a corkscrew_! That’s how Miyazawa got through Ren’s guard!”

“What do you mean?”

“Put your hands up, Ryuji.”

Ryuji raised his hands, half-turning towards Makoto. She slowly mimed a right punch into his guard, letting it impact straight on. She then did it again, this time turning her hand so that her thumb pointed down at the point of impact. It slipped by Ryuji’s hand, heading for his face.

“Like so.” Makoto said excitedly. “Miyazawa did a corkscrew punch!”

Ryuji frowned. “That easy, seriously? If I did that, I’d be able to hit RenRen cleanly like that?”

Makoto shook her head. “It’s not something anyone can do, Ryuji. Even I’d have trouble, even though the _seiken_ punch I use is similar. My fist starts palm up and ends palm down. In fact, most punches in boxing have some element of ‘twist’ to them, too. But Miyazawa’s control and speed are so good that he’s able to use it to slip past a guard and into his target. I think the punch loses a little power because it’s striking the guard or shoulder first, but it was certainly enough to stop Ren.”

“So what can RenRen do?”

Makoto frowned. “We’re about to see. He looks hurt. He won’t be able to mount much of a counter offensive unless he can recover.”

The referee looked over Ren, seemingly satisfied that he was able to continue. “Box!”

Makoto watched as Hayato moved forward aggressively. It made sense. Ren had taken a liver blow and several right straights. Good chin or not, he’d be feeling the effects of that. On top of that, the captain of Shujin Boxing had to deal with the demoralizing mental blow caused by a surprise knockdown.

Hayato’s jab shot out at Ren; he swayed back to dodge it. As his body returned from the sway, he threw a chopping right that sliced down at Hayato’s jaw from above, forcing Arima’s captain to leap back out of range--

Makoto blinked. Ren was breathing hard, standing in the center of the ring. Just after that sway back, he looked like he was in perfect position to throw his right. The way his shoulder twitched, the way his hand moved slightly to his right. And above all, the look in his eyes as he targeted Hayato with the vicious blow.

But the punch never came.

“That’s… That’s beyond a simple feint.” Makoto said, shocked.

“Feint? Didn’t he throw a punch just there?” Ryuji asked.

Makoto shook her head. “He didn’t. But he fooled nearly the entire gymnasium into thinking he did.”

The bell rang, signalling the end of the round. Both Shujin and Arima’s cheering sections applauded the two combatants loudly, competing with each other with their rehearsed chants and cheers.

“That’s insane…” Makoto breathed, watching as Ren and Hayato returned to their corners. “He put so much _sakki_ into his feint that it was for all intents and purposes, a punch without a punch. Enough that even a technician like Miyazawa reacted to it. This fight is ridiculous, Ryuji. I haven’t seen Ren fight like this outside the Metaverse. To think there’s someone at the high school level who could push him to this level… They must be very close.”

“Really? Two guys beat the hell out of each other, and they’re ‘close’?” Ryuji frowned.

Makoto nodded.

“It’s a martial arts thing. Both Ren and Miyazawa are old friends, but they’re giving it their all without being even slightly concerned that they might hurt each other. It’s not because they’re sociopaths… It’s because _that’s_ how much they trust and respect each other.” Makoto smiled nostalgically. “It’s like when I confessed to him last year.”

“You _confessed_ to him!?” Ryuji gawked at Makoto. He hadn’t heard the full story before because by the time he figured out he liked Makoto, she had long since gotten over Ren.

Makoto chuckled. “Not so much in words, Ryuji.” She patted his hand. “We fought. With full intention, with our hearts in it.”

Ryuji frowned. To Makoto’s eye, he was almost… _pouting._

Makoto raised her eyebrow. “...Are you jealous of Ren?”

“No.” He actually _was_ pouting, now.

“...Are you jealous of _Miyazawa?!_ ”

“NO!... ...Yes.” Ryuji mumbled. “ _I’m_ supposed to be RenRen’s best friend, y’know?”

Makoto tried not to laugh at Ryuji, suppressing her giggles under a hand. “I don’t think you need to worry about that, Ryuji. Miyazawa is Ren’s old friend, but you’re the one he confides in, isn’t he? He might have texted Futaba first to ask if she had her computer, but it was _your_ opinion he valued the most on what to do about Miyazawa’s father.”

It was true. Before talking to Kawakami and Shinji Takeda about collecting him from Osaka, Ren had called an impromptu meeting of the Phantom Thieves to discuss Hayanari Miyazawa, Hayato’s father. Just like when they changed hearts as Phantom Thieves, Ren wanted it to be a unanimous decision - and he wanted to know what Ryuji thought about the idea of confronting and trying to redeem an alcoholic father.

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. “Ah… It’s not like I said very much, though. I mean, from what RenRen said it’s pretty clear that Hayato wants his dad back in his life, y’know? All I said was it’s gonna be hard, and the guy’s probably gonna try to run.”

Makoto smiled. “It was also pretty clear that Ren wanted to make sure you were comfortable with us getting involved, Ryuji. He knows the story of your own father, doesn’t he? Even if Miyazawa’s his old friend, you two are _brothers_.”

“Heh… You’re embarrassin’ me, Makoto.” Ryuji blinked. He frowned, looking across at Arima’s cheering section. He easily spotted Hayanari Miyazawa - Shinji Takeda had pointed him out to Ren’s friends before heading down to the locker room.“...Speaking of trying to run.” 

Hayato’s father was on his feet, making his way to the exit.

>>>

Hayanari watched the first two rounds with mixed feelings.

First, he was completely shocked. He had watched Ren and Hayato box before when they were in high school. At the time, their matches were extremely energetic and intense, but unrefined. Even though it was a combative sport, the two boys seemed more like puppies play-fighting than actual boxers. Today was completely different. While the shape of their movements was similar, albeit with some refinement to their technique, the feeling was completely different. It was now like watching two wolves fighting for dominance.

And secondly, Hayanari felt immense pride. He was watching _his_ son fight at the finals of the Winter Cup, the most important boxing tournament of the year. Hayato had grown so much in the time that Hayanari had lost to self-pity and alcoholism. Not just in terms of skill and technique - but in terms of mental fortitude. He knew his son could be hot-tempered, but he was keeping his cool and fighting beautifully against a truly frightening opponent. In fact, he looked like he was having fun doing it. While Hayanari was trying to drink himself to death, Hayato had grown into a fine young man. And so, Hayanari was proud.

And he felt ashamed to be proud.

He didn’t have any right to feel proud. He felt he had contributed nothing to Hayato’s accomplishments. He felt like an imposter sitting amongst the Arima Senior High supporters who had been cheering their hearts out for the entire tournament. Or more accurately, for Hayato’s entire high school boxing career. There were parents here who spoke of Hayato fondly. Apparently the captain of Arima Boxing was more of a mentor to his juniors than Hayanari had ever been to Hayato.

And on the Shujin side, Hayanari could see Kenji and Inoue Amamiya sitting with Hana Takeda. Kenji was waving a massive flag with ‘Amamiya’ written on it, but all three were clearly applauding Hayato as well.

It was too much shame to bear. So Hayanari stood up, creeping out of the arena.

He pushed through the double doors, heading towards the building’s exit.

It was better this way. Hayato didn’t need him. He had so many friends and supporters. He was just holding him back. It was better if he just disappeared. He could see the street from the glass doors. There was a bus stop there - better yet, there was a bar down the block. He just had to--

Hayanari’s world spun as he was cold-cocked, the punch knocking him onto his ass just a few feet away from the door. His jaw throbbed; he stared up in shock at a bleach-blonde delinquent with fire in his eyes. The boy wore a Shujin uniform over a bright yellow shirt that was emblazoned with a stylized star and the letters ‘ZOMG’.

“Where the hell do you think _you’re_ goin’!?” Ryuji snapped, shaking out his fist.

“Wh-what?! Why did you--”

“I hit you because you pissed me off.” Ryuji spat the words out, glaring down at Hayanari. “You’re Hayato’s old man, aren’t you? The _drunk_?”

Hayanari’s surprise and anger at being punched faded on hearing the anger in the boy’s voice. It almost sounded personal.

“You’re seriously just going to leave him? After Coach Takeda dragged your sorry ass all the way down here?! Can’t you see how hard Hayato’s fightin’?! I don’t know Hayato that well, but I know his opponent. RenRen’s a hell of a fighter and he’s pullin’ out all the stops to win, but your kid’s meetin’ him head on! That doesn’t make you feel anything at all!?”

Hayanari clenched his fists. That wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t that he didn’t care.

Ryuji shook his head, standing aside. “You know, forget it. Go. He’s better off without a dad who doesn’t give a fuck about how much work he’s put in--”

“That’s not it!” Hayanari snapped. His voice started to break. “That’s not it at all…”

“Then what? You’re too ashamed to show your face? You’d rather feel drunk than feel guilt?” Ryuji paused. “Tch. You should be. You _should_ feel ashamed.”

A girl approached. She lightly touched the boy’s elbow. “Ryuji…”

Ryuji blinked; he looked at her, sighing. He shook his shoulders, as if wrestling them free from a hidden burden. “...Sorry, Makoto. Right. He’s not _him_. But I’m not wrong.”

“...The fact of the matter is, you should feel ashamed. You should feel ashamed that you’re just gonna run away when you’re son’s down there givin' it his all. You’re leavin’ him alone.” Ryuji continued.

Hayanari slowly got up. The man stared at his shoes. “I… I’m not. He has so many people in his life that care about him. I don’t need to be there.”

“No. You don’t.” Ryuji said. “But for some reason, your son _wants_ you to be there. He gave up the Fall Nationals for you. He asked if the Phantom Thieves could change your heart. And now he’s in there fightin’ Ren, who’s got _his_ parents on his side.”

Ryuji gave Hayanari a challenging glare.

“Are you really gonna let Hayato be outnumbered?”

>>>

“What a match!” Morikawa said. “Amamiya essentially scores a down in the first round, and on the verge of a KO victory in the second, gets completely shut down by Miyazawa who knocks him down in turn! Minoru-san, Yamanaka-san, how do you think this will end?”

“They’ve survived each other’s trump cards.” Yamanaka said, scratching his goatee. “Amamiya-kun’s Philly Shell and chopping right counter weren’t enough. Miyazawa-kun’s corkscrew blow and 1-2 weren’t enough. On top of that, they’re roughly equal, even in terms of their physical attributes. Amamiya-kun has an edge in power, but Miyazawa-kun’s faster…”

Mari nodded. “I think this is going to come down to two things. The first is ‘heart’. Who wants it more? Who’s more willing to pave their road to the championship with the dreams of their friend?”

Yamanaka blinked, looking at Mari in surprise. As if he was seeing her for the first time.

“It’s almost barbaric, isn’t it?” Morikawa said. “To think that old friends could attack each other with such intensity.”

“Not at all. It’s compelling. Captivating, even.” Mari said, watching as each of the fighters were tended to by their corners. “When you watch these two, you could say something like ‘it’s unfortunate they were born at the same time’, because boxing is an individual sport. Only one can win; only one can be champion. But the only reason we’re seeing this kind of match today is _because_ these two are pushing each other. And with that in mind, I think that’s the second thing this match will come down to. Who can become stronger in the next round? Who can overcome and adapt? Who can impose _his_ boxing on the ring?”

The referee returned to the center of the ring. He raised his hands. “Seconds out!”

>>>

Hayato stood up as the referee called for each corner team to leave the ring. He glanced down at his knees. They weren’t shaking anymore, at least. But they still felt heavy, despite the fact that the majority of the punches he had taken were at the end of the first round and during the first half of the second. Hayato smiled ruefully, staring across the ring at his old friend.

“Tch… That choppin’ right’s so strong it should be illegal, Ren-chan.” Hayato muttered to himself. But he could tell that Ren was hurt, too. His fellow welterweight stood up from his own stool, that ever-present smirk finally gone. His legs seemed stiff - likely because Ren didn’t trust them to keep him up anymore. Hayato knew he had gotten perfect feedback from his earlier liver blow, and his 1-2 was enough to turn the lights out on most other boxers. The sheer strength of will Ren was showing him was something to behold.

And then there was that feint - or whatever it was - at the end of the second round. Even Hayato had been fooled.

 _‘Though, it wasn’t really a ‘trick’, or a ‘bluff’. I honestly though he was going to try to take my fuckin’ head off with that right.’_ Hayato thought grimly.

In that split second, he hadn’t recognized Ren; his cocky, playful, _smirky_ friend vanished. His instincts just screamed ‘danger’ when he caught that quicksilver flash and the slight motion of his fist. At the time, he knew that Ren couldn’t have recovered enough to deliver a hard shot. But his body reacted, leaping away from Ren like he was a venomous snake.

Ren had missed his chance to finish this in the first.

Hayato missed his chance in the second.

And so now they stood here in the third and final round. All cards were on the table.

The bell rang.

“Box!”

Hayato stepped forward, meeting Ren in the center of the ring. Hayato stood in his typical orthodox stance, his left hand extended, ready to fire his bullet-like jabs. Ren took his Detroit stance, his left arm slowly swinging at the level of his waist, reminiscent of the grim reaper’s scythe. Both of them were battered, bruised, and exhausted.

The two paused for a heartbeat. They smiled. This time, they reached forward, tapping their left gloves together.

One final sign of respect before they returned to their stances - and their lefts extended again, each of them a blur. The sounds of squeaking shoes, fists cutting the air, and sharp breaths seemed to fill the air of the massive gymnasium. Much like the opening salvo of the first round, the audience was silenced. Then, it had been from shock at the skill level they were witnessing. Now, it was the palpable and increasing tension inside the ring.

A motionless left snapped against Ren’s face, sending sweat flying.

A flicker jab thudded into Hayato’s solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him for a split second.

Their lefts were evenly matched. The tension continued to rise until it snapped.

Hayato’s right straight caught the back of Ren’s shoulder as the Shujin captain effortlessly slipped into the Philly Shell before returning with a chopping right. Hayato threw another liver punch. He cursed inwardly, unable to get his full weight behind it due to a combination of his own fatigue and the ferocity of Ren’s right. But it was enough to dull the impact of the chopping right; enough for Hayato to launch his corkscrew blow at Ren’s face.

Ren twisted his shoulder in the way; Hayato twisted his wrist further, this time not even performing the impact-slide to slip past the guard. Instead, he threaded the needle and directed the full force of his punch into Ren’s chin. Hayato’s momentary feeling of triumph faded as he realized the feedback in his hand felt _wrong_.

Ren’s eyes were alive and fixed on Hayato. His head was turned awkwardly away from the punch.

_‘Oh, fuck.’_

Hayato’s eyes widened. Ren had applied the principle of his own punch against him - at the moment of impact, he twisted his neck and weaved slightly, allowing Hayato’s fist to slip by and just _briefly_ making the Arima captain think he’d landed a big one.

And that brief moment was all he needed. Ren’s left smash hammered Hayato’s right flank, returning the favor from the previous liver blow. Hayato felt like Ren had gutted him. He started to buckle, but Ren didn’t let him fall.

Two jabs from below into his solar plexus and then his chin raised him up onto his feet again and sent him back into the ropes. An overhand right chopped down and sent him towards the floor, only for Ren to batter him with another smash that sent him stumbling into the corner. Ren stood in front of him. His grey eyes were cold and determined.

His right hand suddenly became massive in Hayato’s vision as it rocketed towards his face.

Ren’s straight slammed into the padded ring post with a dull thud.

Hayato had slid down the post in the corner, finally unable to keep himself up. He stared dully at Ren’s back as Shujin’s captain turned, stabbing his fist into the air in a guts pose as he wordlessly roared, more beast than man.

 _‘...God_ **_damn_ ** _, Ren-chan.’_

Shujin’s cheering section went berserk. Calls of ‘Wildcard’ and ‘Shujin’ poured down onto the ring like rain.

The referee started counting.

Hayato stared at his fists, his legs. _‘Don’t I have anything left? Anything?’_

He looked up at Ren. His friend and rival was giving him a hard stare. It wasn’t how a victor looked at a defeated opponent. Hayato understood immediately. That roar wasn’t in victory. It was sheer exhilaration. It was joy at being able to let loose. It was a challenge.

He was telling Hayato to come at him.

“God _damn_ , Ren-chan.” Hayato muttered. He moved so his knees were under him; he planted his fist on the ground. “When did you become so cool? Now I _have_ to get up…”

Arima’s supporters murmured in shock. Murmurs slowly became scattered cheers.

“He’s… he’s getting up!”

“The Captain’s getting up!”

“Hayato-kun!”

“Arima fight-oh!”

“Fight-oh!”

Scattered cheers became a unified voice.

“FIGHT! FIGHT! A-RI-MA! SOAR! SOAR! HAYA-BU-SA! FIGHT! FIGHT! A-RI-MA! SOAR! SOAR! HAYA-BU-SA!”

At the seven count, Hayato staggered to his feet. Buoyed by the support of his team and their fans, it still took almost everything he had to get up. And now he still had to take a fighting pose and convince the referee standing in front of him.

“Take your stance! What’s your name? Where are you?”

Hayato despaired. He was up, but he felt like he was at the end. He tried to raise his hands. He looked over at Ren.

 _‘...Sorry, Ren-chan. I--’_ “HAYATOOOOOO!”

Hayato’s eyes became saucers. He whipped his head to the side, searching the crowd.

“HAYATO!” Hayanari shouted from the stands, leaning over the balcony. Leaning over the Arima’s banner (七転八起). “FIGHT! STAND AND FIGHT!”

“Oyaji…?” Hayato stared blankly at his father. He was here. And he was _sober_ , telling him to stand and fight while standing above a banner that almost said the same thing. This was insanely stupid. Impossible, even. It was like something out of one of the manga that Ren liked to read--

Hayato’s gaze shot over to Ren, his tired mind suddenly making the connection.

Ren’s hard gaze softened slightly. He smiled slightly at his friend.

_‘...Right. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts… Do you know if they’re still workin’? Changin’ hearts and stuff?’_

_‘I have it on good authority that they’re retired… Why?’_

“Holy shit…” Hayato chuckled. “I shoulda known…”

“Miyazawa! I’m going to start counting again--”

“My name is Hayato Miyazawa! I’m at the Winter Cup in Tokyo! And I’m gonna kick that guy’s ass!” Hayato yelled, grinning widely. He shot past the referee. Ren wanted him at his best, and he was damn well going to give it.

The referee stumbled, frantically waving. “Box!”

Ren met Hayato in the center of the ring. They started exchanging blows again, hands moving faster than most people in the audience could clearly see. Sweat flew; the snap of leather against skin and headgear resounded across the ring. Flicker jabs and chopping rights met motionless lefts and bullet straights. The two threw defense to the wind; the fight turned into a battle of wills to see which Son of Takeda would win today.

Ren abruptly shifted to the Philly Shell, catching Hayato’s right on the back of his shoulder. He had waited until Hayato committed to the punch, barely making it in time to block. Ren immediately countered with his chopping right, sending it right at Hayato’s jaw.

Hayato backstepped with his left foot, leaving his right planted as he fluidly switched to southpaw.

Ren clearly believed it was a bluff. Hayato never fought out of southpaw before. He took his defensive stance again, waiting for another quick switch and sharp left jab.

And so, he was caught completely off-guard by the right hook that went over his defensive left shoulder and into his temple.

>>>

“Holy crap!” Shiho exclaimed, watching. “This is insane. Blondie, have you _ever_ seen the Champ move like this before?!”

Ann said nothing, just leaning on the balcony with her eyes fixated on Ren. As exhausted and beaten up as he looked, his movements were fluid. His punches were all aimed at vital spots, working with a brutal efficiency that she had indeed seen before - in the Metaverse. This was like watching Joker fight, only instead of wrist blades, he had boxing gloves. There was an element of control, of course. No dangerous rabbit punches or kidney shots, no throat punches aimed at finishing Shadows quickly.

She was correct, in the locker room. He was perfect. Her Wildcard was perfect.

But Hayato was answering Ren’s call. He was breaking his limits, too.

Maybe it was the height from which she watched; maybe it was because she wasn’t facing down Hayato herself. Or maybe it was because it was so similar to how Ren had switched stances against Setoguchi earlier in the year. She stood up and charged towards the stairs even before she heard the impact of Hayato’s right hook against Ren’s temple.

>>>

Hayato’s right hook was followed up by a stance switch while Ren staggered to his right. A jab stopped him. And a right straight smashed him down to his knees.

Ren crumpled almost bonelessly to the canvas.

“Oh… Oh, no.” Kaname gasped. “No, no, no, no!”

The referee ran over; he was already starting to signal for a TKO and the bell.

Ren gasped, coming up to his hands and knees.

The referee hesitated. He looked like he still wanted to call the match. But Hayato was just as hurt earlier, and he had given the boy a chance. As impartial as he tried to be, the referee was a boxing fan, too. This match was something special - each of these fighters were incredibly talented, and they were pushing each other past their preconceived limits. It was rare to find a fight where people _grew_ this much.

He couldn’t bring himself to end it. Not like this.

He started counting.

Kaname snatched at the towel on her shoulder, preparing to throw it in. She couldn’t let this go further. Not even ten seconds further. 

_‘It’s enough already, Renpai! It’s enough! Don’t stand! I can’t face Ann-nee if I let you… Just… it’s enough!’_

She hesitated. She looked at her father. Shinji turned to Kaname. He spoke quietly, gravely. “The first job of the trainer, Kaname, is to save the fighter. No matter what he thinks of us afterward.”

Kaname threw the towel.

A slender hand shot past Kaname’s fast, snatching it out of the air.

Kaname whirled; Ann stood there, grasping the cotton. Her eyes were as hard and resolved as Ren’s had been.

“Ann! What are you doing!?”

“He’s not done.” Ann said, her voice stern despite her stricken expression.

Shinji sighed. “Takamaki-san, you don’t understand. We can’t let this go on. For his sake, we--”

“He’s _not done_ !” Ann shouted. Tears brimmed in her eyes; she too was pained by this. She wanted this fight to be over, too. But she knew him. She _knew_ Ren Amamiya. She could see even now, on his hands and knees, he was gathering strength. He wanted to stand; he wanted to finish this properly. He still had something to show his friend; he still had something to show _himself_.

She wanted to throw in the towel herself. She wanted to run into the ring, to tell her love that this was enough. That he could stop.

But he wasn’t done. And as Ren had unshakeable faith in her, she had the same faith in him.

“He isn’t done. And he’s going to _win_.”

Shinji slowly closed his mouth. He crossed his arms, turning away from Ann and back to the ring. “...If he can get up, fine. But if he gets knocked down again, this is over.”

Ann nodded tightly. She wrung the towel to prevent _herself_ from throwing it in. She met Ren’s eyes. She took a deep breath.

“GET. UP. GET UP, WILDCARD!”

>>>

“He isn’t done. And he’s going to _win_.”

Ren smiled, shaking his head. He looked across the ring at Ann. He knew she couldn’t actually read his mind, but it seemed she understood regardless. After all, she had just snatched that towel out of the air.

_‘...Songbird. I can hear it in your voice, you know? How hard this is for you. This is what I was trying to tell you, you know? This is how it’s going to feel, if I go pro. I’m wearing headgear and this is high school, but I still feel like I’m putting my body on the line. If I go where I want to in the pro world, I might be putting my life on the line. Just to see if I can find the answer to Yamanaka-san’s riddle. If I can see the world from his perspective. Is that really okay?’_

She met his eyes. She drew herself up, and gave him her answer.

“GET. UP. GET UP, WILDCARD!”

So he got up.

One foot to the canvas first. Then a fist, pushing against the floor.

And then slowly, carefully, to his feet. The referee was still counting. He waited until the eight count to raise his hands, before speaking in a loud, clear voice.

“Ren Amamiya. Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Winter Cup.”

“...” The referee hesitated.

Ren smiled wearily. _‘I must look pretty bad.’_

“...Box!”

Hayato shot forward. In the ultimate show of respect, he moved to put Ren down for the last time.

Ren tightened his guard, taking Iwai’s peek-a-boo stance as he weathered the storm.

_‘He’s fast. He’s faster than me, and I’ve got more damage right now. I need… I need to think. Need to figure something out. Shit, this hurts. It hurts…’_

Fatigue and pain overcame him, blotted out his conscious mind. He couldn’t think; all he could do was watch Hayato through the crack in his guard. In this state of exhaustion, everything else faded away. The crowd; Ann and Kaname yelling from his corner. His mind emptied of everything but the opponent in front of him.

He realized he didn’t need to think at all.

He bobbed and weaved suddenly, dashing in tight and dropping his hips as he pressed against Hayato’s chest. The in-fighting range was completely unexpected, but brief - Ren pushed off his feet, hard, simultaneously punching at Hayato’s flank.

The blow was harmless, but meant to prevent the referee from calling an illegal push as Ren shoved Hayato back, giving himself distance. He took his hitman stance, his body and chin wide open. Hayato dashed forward - his eyes widened as a right careened towards his face, making him hesitate in his advance.

The punch never came.

Ren dashed forward into the opening. His left jab shot in, lashing against Hayato’s face. A pause; Hayato raised his left to take ‘two’ of Ren’s favored KO pattern, the flicker to the overhand.

Once again, the punch never came.

A vicious left smash caught Hayato’s chin. His mouthguard flew; his vision dimmed. The version of Ren that disgusted him so much, the one he fought in that sparring match during their reunion, would have let up from here. This was not that Ren. Instead, he faced down something else. Something that was weaponized fury and instinct.

The Phantom Thieves watching could have sworn that for a brief moment, they saw the Black Wing once again carrying their leader to victory.

Left jabs picked apart Hayato’s guard before a smash blew it open.

A chopping right cut him down.

“Neutral corner! Corner!” The referee yelled, pushing Ren back. Ren stumbled, nearly falling down himself. Hayato was slumped against the ringpost again; he was still conscious, barely.

 _‘...That… that had to be enough.’_ Ren thought, watching Hayato as he leaned back against the ringpost.

The crowd was too anxious to count with the referee.

“Five! Six!”

Hayato seemed to snap back to reality. He grit his teeth. He started to raise his hands. Ren smiled faintly.

_‘...Should have known. Alright, Haya-kun. Let’s do this.’_

“Seven! Eight!”

Ren raised his own hands, taking his stance. His vision was filled with Hayato’s gunmetal blue gaze. He really had nothing left, now. All he could hope to do was hang on and pray that the decision went his way. But right now, a light breeze would knock him over. And in front of him, Hayato’s eyes were still filled with fire, ready to fight. His hands were up. His guard was ready.

“...Nine!” The Shujin supporters started to cheer and scream.

Ren startled. “W… what?!”

His tunnel vision opened up. It was as if someone turned the brightness and volume up in his world all at once. His eyes shot over to Ann and Kaname. They were holding each other tensely; they were starting to grin broadly at Ren. Tears brimmed in Ann’s eyes.

He looked back at Hayato. Hayato’s guard was up - but he was on one knee, still in the corner. He had never gotten up. He _couldn’t get up_.

“Ten!” The referee waved his arms.

The bell rang.

The crowd exploded into bedlam.

“And… and it’s over! The match is over!” Morikawa shouted, knocking over his coffee. “Ren Amamiya is the welterweight champion! With an incredible last-ditch rush, the Wildcard comes through! Yamanaka-san, Minoru-san, what do you think--”

Morikawa looked over. With the last fight that either special guest cared about over, they had both absconded. A log sat on each of their chairs to replace them.

“How is this gag appropriate for a boxing story?!” Morikawa yelled. “There’s still more fights!”

In the ring, Ren started to fall to his knees, exhausted. He was caught in the arms of the one person he wanted to see the most. Leaning heavily on her, he mumbled into her flaxen hair, breathing in the scent of freesias and pears. “...Hey, Songbird.”

Ann sniffled, uncaring of the sweat and bruises. “H-hey, Wildcard.”

Ren chuckled lightly. He winced as Ann helped him take his headgear and gloves off; he couldn’t even raise his arms. “Guess I look pretty bad?”

Ann shook her head. She stood on her toes, kissing him, also uncaring of the thousands of people watching. “No. I told you already, remember? You look perfect.” She stroked his left cheek, turning his face gently to look at the cut on the right side, the bruise forming over his jaw. “...Mostly perfect, anyway.”

Hayato approached, leaning on Coach Tomiya. He stuck out his hand.

Ren shook it. He stumbled as Hayato pulled him forward into a one-armed hug. He spoke quietly, his words for Ren alone.

“...Ren-chan. I thought you said the Phantom Thieves were retired? Why’s my old man here?”

Ren just shrugged. “Don’t need to be a Phantom Thief to change a heart, Haya-kun.”

“...Right.” Hayato smiled. “Thanks, all the same.” His smile faded. “...It’s a tough disease, the kinda addiction he has. I don’t know if this is going to be a happy ending. But if he’s actually willin’ to give it a go, so am I.”

“It’ll be different this time, Haya-kun.” Ren said, confidently. “You have me. You have my family, too.”

“...Thanks. Heh. Anyway. Nice fight, Ren-chan. You know, this means we’re tied up again?” Hayato flashed a grin. “For now.”

“For now.” Ren said, chuckling. He watched as Hayato left the ring.

Shinji helped Ren out as well. They had to clear out for the next match. 

Partway down the tunnel, they met the rest of the Phantom Thief family, as well as Ren’s parents.

“Dude, we _have_ to party, now! ...Oh, wow. That’s a _huge_ bruise.” Ryuji said, peering at Ren’s face.

“Nice fight, Ren.” Makoto smiled. She perked up. “Oh! Can you show me how you did that feint? That was really interesting.”

“Ah, Ren. If you would hold that pose for a mere half an hour, I could paint a…”

“Ne, ne! Nii-chan! Look at these forum posts!”

“Nice one, Champ! Hm. Thank God. Your face doesn’t look like it’s been permanently damaged. I mean, that would have been a tragedy for me-- you. For you.”

“Kid! Amazing fight! I’m glad I brought this flag.”

Ren frowned. “Wait. Let me see that, Oya-ji.”

Kenji blinked. He shoved the rolled up flag behind his back. “Er, forget I mentioned it.”

“...You didn’t.” Ren said, slowly.

“Of course I didn’t!”

Mona meowed. “He totally did. The flag says ‘Amamiya’ on one side, but the other side says ‘STAY AT THE INN OF CHAMPIONS.’

“You cheap old bastard. You used my fight to _advertise_?!” 

Kenji narrowly dodged a jab. “How the hell did you even know!? Do you speak ‘cat’ or something?! Is that any way to treat your revered father who came all the way to cheer you on?! Looks like you need a German Suplex--”

Kenji yelped as Kaname took him down with a hard leg sweep and elbow drop.

“Don’t you _dare_ German Suplex my fighter!” Kaname yelled, looking every bit the Demon Trainer. She then turned to each of the Phantom Thieves, stabbing her finger at them all. “OUT! ALL OF YOU, OUT!”

The Phantom Thieves quickly vanished, save for Ren, who was her fighter. And Ann, who was supporting some of his weight on her shoulders. 

Kaname grabbed their hands, leading them briskly down the hall to the medical room. She kicked the door open; it was empty. The petite trainer grumbled, quickly and efficiently treating Ren’s cuts and bruises before forcefully sitting him down on the bed. “Dark room. 30 minutes. You’re concussed until proven otherwise, Renpai. Ann-nee, you stay with him to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. I’m calling Takemi-sensei in to look at you.”

Kaname paused at the door. She looked over her shoulder.

“...Renpai. Nice fight. And Ann… You… You’re much stronger than I could have ever imagined.”

She closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.

Ren sighed, lying back on the cot. Ann prepared a cold compress, placing it over Ren’s forehead before she took a seat beside him on a chair. They rested in silence for a few moments.

“...Thanks, Ann.”

Ann shook her head. “Don’t. Don’t thank me for what I did, Ren. I… I still barely understood why I did it. I just got to ringside, and I saw Kana-chan throw the towel. My hand moved before I even thought about it. I… even after I stopped Kana-chan, I still wanted to throw it in. But I couldn’t.”

Ren took Ann’s hand, squeezing. “It’s because you know me too well, Songbird. You knew what I wanted to do. What I needed to do.”

Ann sighed, biting her lip. “I never thought that being able to read you like a book would put me in that kind of position. So… Did you find it? Did you find your answer? What you want to do from here on, now that high school boxing is over?”

“Almost.” Ren said, softly. “There’s just one more thing I need to see.”

“What’s that?”

Ren smiled faintly. “That was Yamanaka-san at the ringside table, wasn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hayato's father, Hayanari - If anyone medical minded is reading this, yes, I'm aware that going cold turkey on a deep-seeded alcohol addiction is ill-advised without medical management. But I don't think anyone reading this really wants to see me write about delerium tremens and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. More on Hayanari's fate in the next chapter.
> 
> Ryuji's comment - 'He's not _him_ ' is exactly what you're meant to think. Ryuji obviously doesn't respond well to a father with a drinking problem. But he recognizes that Hayato/Hayanari are different from Ryuji/His father (with a gentle reminder from Makoto)
> 
> Nafuda - A bit of nostalgia for me. My sensei had similar words for me when I had to leave my martial art. He said I'd always be a student there, and it meant a lot to me.
> 
> Respect/Killing each other - I've touched on this a few times, but my experience in combative sport is like this. The ultimate show of respect for your opponent is giving everything you've got. At my 'peak', my favorite sparring partner was my best friend inside the dojo. We didn't talk much beyond beating the crap out of each other, and the amount of learning/growth in those fights still makes me wish I could go back to that.
> 
> Morikawa - Jyoji Morikawa is the name of Hajime no Ippo's mangaka. More often referred to as 'George Morikawa'. Not the same guy obviously, but figured the shoutout/homage was appropriate.
> 
> Note on reserves/emptying the tank - There's always more to give. When you go 'all out', there's always more. It's just that accessing it is difficult.
> 
> Note on cheating - Both Ren and Hayato cheat. It's not as blatant as stepping on someone's ankle or headbutting, but it's the kind of cheating that highly skilled athletes do. They're good enough to make it grey, to make it so that it can't be called. That's the reality of high level sport - everyone bends the rules as much as they can in order to win. The people who are _really_ good, you don't notice.
> 
> For fun, I looked up the list of violations in kendo. I wasn't that good, but holy crap. I cheated. Everyone cheated. It's just that you do it in a way that no one sees it/can call it.
> 
> Worst ref in the world - Please have mercy on referee-san. If he called these matches in the way that amateur boxing should be called, both fights would have finished with a TKO in the first round. Amateur/youth refs are usually extremely protective of boxer health and wouldn't have let either fight get to the point that they did. Makes it hard to write an exciting story if it's called like that, though :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Winter Cup behind the former Phantom Thieves and their loved ones, how will they celebrate Christmas Eve?
> 
> Will the no-longer-closeted shoujo addict Ren Amamiya be able to deliver sparkly romance after clobbering the heck out of his old friend (and being clobbered in return)?
> 
> Where will his kouhai take the fiery Manager Takeda/Girlfriend Kaname? Is a romantic date right after an intense boxing match... too _tsun_?
> 
> How will Ryuji impress his actual, real live girlfriend for their first actual, real live Christmas Date? Will she even let the third-year student slack off from studying to go on said date?
> 
> Will Yusuke finally take a hint?
> 
> This and more in this 'Love, Actually' inspired Christmas chapter! Part 1 of 2. Finally updated after getting sucked into Trails of Cold Steel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry/not sorry for the 'too tsun?' joke.
> 
> LDK - Living/dining/kitchen area. Ann's apartment has this as it's a large/modern/open plan apartment (no walls separating the living/dining/kitchen areas)
> 
> schnitzel - breaded/fried pork cutlet
> 
> spaetzle - egg pasta, rich and tasty

November 26, 2017 - Yongen-jaya 

Ren walked home with a swagger in his step. He had just won his Winter Cup Preliminary match against Akitake Aratani in convincing fashion, going after his fellow welterweight aggressively and definitively. He hoped that Hayato would get his hands on a recording of the fight.

Shujin’s captain fully intended to send his old friend a message: he was finally ready to answer his challenge. Ren pushed open the door to Leblanc, already starting to make a beeline towards the stairs to the attic. It was just going to be a quick stop to grab some things for school before heading over to Ann’s - her parents were still on their business trip after all. Despite the upcoming tournament and spectre of entrance exams, they were still young and in love.

Ren only made it a few steps over the threshold before noicting something was amiss. Apparently it wasn’t going to be a quick stop after all.

Sojiro was behind the counter. He glanced at Ren before nodding his head towards the customers inside Leblanc with a sympathetic look at his ward and a quiet sigh.

Ryuji, Yusuke, and Shiho sat at a booth on one side of the table, quite clearly waiting for Ren. To the former leader of the Phantom Thieves, it looked almost like an intervention.

Ren frowned. “Hey, guys. This looks serious. Is something wrong?”

Ryuji and Yusuke exchanged glances before they both simultaneously stood and bowed, speaking nearly in unison.

“Please, sensei! Help us!”

“... _Sensei_? Why the hell are you calling me that? And help with what?” Ren asked, bewildered.

“RyuRyu’s trying to think of what to do for Mako-chan on their first real Christmas Eve date.” Shiho explained, with her characteristic Puckish grin. “And Da Vinci here’s going to confess to Haruru, probably on the same day. They figured who better to ask for advice than the group’s resident shoujo/josei/trashy romance addict for suitably romantic and cheesy ideas?”

“They’re _not_ trashy.” Ren said, reflexively. He paused, thinking about how the latest chapter of _Coffee and Vanilla_ went. “...At least, _most_ of them aren’t. Then, why are _you_ here, Shiho?”

Shiho shrugged. “I was bored, and this seemed too hilarious to pass up.”

Ren rolled his eyes. He sat down across from his friends in the booth; he blinked as Kaoru slipped into the cafe as well, sheepishly taking a seat beside Ren.

“Kaoru?”

“Sakamoto-senpai texted me.” Kaoru said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m going to ask Kana-chan out too, and it seemed like a good idea to get your advice. He said that you’ve probably had something planned for Takamaki-senpai to make up for last year?”

“Come on, guys.” Ren said defensively. “It’s almost a month away. Do you really think I’d have something figured out already?”

Ryuji, Yusuke, Shiho, and even Kaoru stared at Ren skeptically with a combination of raised eyebrows and/or crossed arms.

After a brief standoff, Ren decided to come clean. “...I’ve had something planned for weeks. Nothing big. I was just going to take her out to the Christmas Market...”

“...Oh. That’s it?” Ryuji frowned.

“Wait for it…” Shiho intoned.

“...In Yokohama.” Ren finished. “The one on the bay at the old warehouse, with all the restored nineteenth century buildings and the ice rink.”

Yusuke nodded. “Ah. Romantic. But I must admit, I am a little disappointed. I was expecting a little more, particularly if you’re planning to take an hour’s train ride south to Yokohama—”

Ren continued. “And after we build up an appetite walking around, we’re going to a dessert buffet for two in the Sky Lounge, that restaurant on the 70th floor of the Landmark Tower with the view of the harbor. I even managed to get us the table with the best view. Just had to drop Boss’ name.”

Kaoru opened and closed his mouth, trying in vain to find the appropriate words. “Senpai, don’t you think that’s a little--”

But Ren wasn’t done.

“Oh! And then after that, I pulled some strings so we could go back to the skating rink just a little past closing time. All I had to do was trade a pair of tickets to a boxing match to the rink operator. We’ll be on the ice alone, with music and Christmas lights. And then after _that_ , I got us a hotel room at the Yokohama Bay Hotel.”

Ren grinned, his excitement briefly getting the better of him. 

“I drew from some of my favorite stories, like _Namaikizakari, First Love_ and _Today, Our Love Begins_. I call it ‘One Magical MakeUp for Risking Incarceration last Christmas Eve’, or Operation OMMURICE for short. I think the hardest part was coming up with the name--...”

Ren trailed off, feeling the combined brunt of Kaoru, Yusuke, and Ryuji’s betrayed and irritated looks. He was definitely going to make them all look bad. He coughed.

“So uh, nothing big.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Afternoon) - Hiroo, Tokyo 

“I can’t believe you planned all of that for after the Winter Cup, Wildcard.” Ann said. “You had to know that win or lose, it was going to be a tough fight.”

Ann shook her head as she walked Ren back to her place after his fateful victory at the Winter Cup Finals. During the walk home, Ren seemed oddly determined to take Ann out for their Christmas Eve date, despite the fact that he was sore, bruised, and sporting a bandage on his face over the cut Hayato gave him. Of course, Ann had refused - she wasn’t about to let Ren wander into the crowded streets in his condition. But he kept insisting, to the point where Ann convinced him to spill and tell her what was so important about the evening he had planned. To his credit, the planned date did sound amazing. Her boyfriend had her at the words ‘dessert buffet’.

Ren smiled slightly as they approached the door to the Takamaki residence. “You know me, Songbird. It’s harder for me to think straight when it comes to you. And I really do want to make up for last year. I mean, getting sent to jail sort of ruined Christmas... Making amends is important to me. _You’re_ important to me.”

Ann unlocked the door, leading Ren inside. She let him lean on her as he took his shoes off. Before he could step away from her, she caught him, kissing him softly. She stroked his jaw, and then the bandage over his cheek.

“You’re sweet.” She smiled, giving him a gentle hug. “The evening you planned sounds incredible. But you can’t go out in that condition, Wildcard. You need to rest. Even though Takemi-sensei said you probably don’t have a concussion, she and Kana-chan made you promise to take it easy, remember?”

Ren frowned - Ann knew that look. He was going to be stubborn.

She patted his chest lightly. “Here. Let’s make a deal, Wildcard. Take a bath, then take a nap. If you’re feeling better, we’ll go out, okay? We might be able to do some of the stuff you had planned for later in the evening.”

Ren sighed. He nodded, moving gingerly into the bathroom. He paused, looking at Ann as she followed him in and drew the bath. He grinned. “A bit eager to join me? Did I impress you with my triumphant win? Or was it the amazingly romantic evening I planned?”

Ann rolled her eyes. She eyed Ren head to toe, looking at his bandaged face, and then pointedly at the places where she had seen bruises on his torso from Hayato’s body blows. “Yep. I’m eager. Eager to make sure that my boyfriend doesn’t drown in the bathtub.”

“I’m fine.” Ren protested.

Ann crossed her arms, arching an eyebrow. “Then go ahead.” She nodded at the bathtub. “Get in.”

Ren shrugged lightly. He started to pull off his jacket, rolling his left shoulder back - the same shoulder he used to repeatedly block Hayato’s hard right straights. He grimaced, trying his _other_ shoulder. The one he used to repeatedly throw hard chopping rights and right straights not only tonight, but over the past few days. He winced. He looked back at Ann again, half-trapped in his own coat.

“Uh… Little help?” Ren said, chuckling weakly.

Ann smiled, stepping forward.

>>>

A few moments later, Ren sighed as he felt the heat of the water start to loosen up his knotted and tight muscles. Even better for his mood was the sound of Ann slipping into the bath behind him. He smiled slightly, reflexively turning to initiate a little fun. He stopped mid-movement.

“Ah… Damn.” Ren muttered, grimacing. Apparently, he couldn’t twist that way just yet, even with the naked and blonde incentive behind him in the bath.

Ann clicked her tongue softly. She slid her hands over his shoulders, starting to gently massage. “None of that right now, Wildcard.”

“Couldn’t if I wanted to.” Ren sighed. He leaned forward on the edge of the bath, resting his head on his forearms. He had to settle for the feeling of Ann’s breasts pressing pleasantly against his back as she hugged him sympathetically. “And you’d better believe I want to.”

“Poor thing...” Ann said, suppressing a little laugh as she returned to rubbing his back and shoulders. “Maybe later. If you’re feeling better.” She said, dangling another carrot to encourage him to rest.

“Mm.” Ren murmured. He started to doze off, the warmth of the water and Ann’s gentle touch lulling him. “...Hm…”

“Something wrong?”

“No. Just wondering how everyone else is doing.” Ren murmured. “I ended up helping Yusuke, Ryuji, and Kaoru come up with some ideas for their own evenings.”

“That’s good…” Ann paused, frowning thoughtfully. “...You know, speaking of that. It’s a bit odd that Shiho was there.”

“Why? She said she was bored.” Ren said, chuckling.

“Well, you mentioned that you guys met after the prelims, right?” Ann said. “I’m surprised Shiho would want to talk about the lovey-dovey type of stuff. She was feeling a bit stressed out about her relationship with Kurosawa around that time.”

Ren turned over, leaning back in the bath. He sighed again as Ann settled lightly into his arms. “Really? I know she still calls it a ‘trial-basis relationship’, but I thought things were going pretty well. She certainly didn’t show any concern. She kept taking notes, though…”

Ann blinked. “Notes? On what?”

“She said she was writing down ideas for a date with Kurosawa?”

Ann sat up a little. “...Oh. Wait. That might not be good.”

“Why?” Ren asked.

“Well, she was feeling stressed, so she came over and we did the girl talk thing, complete with snacks and a movie.” Ann said. It seemed like an innocuous statement, but the blonde bit her lip, frowning slightly in thought.

Ren caught Ann’s look. “...Which movie?”

Ann sighed. “‘ _How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days_ ’.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Early Evening) - Sugamo, Tokyo 

Shiho glanced at her phone, double-checking the address. It was her first time dropping by Ryoichi’s home in the quiet neighborhood of Sugamo. She was only supposed to meet him at his place before they went out on their date; really, she didn’t even need to set foot inside. But she had a mission.

She had to take Ryoichi Kurosawa out on a terrible date. Not just a date where the restaurant wasn’t quite up to snuff, or where the movie was a little boring. This had to be God awful. A date that would pass into urban legend for how much of an apocalyptic disaster it was. This had to be the dating equivalent of Ryuji’s pre-Makoto-Niijima-study-session exam scores.

Shiho Suzui needed this to be the worst date imaginable, and it had to start with a plant. And a plan. The plan was for a plant.

She knocked on the door. Ryoichi opened it, smiling at the sight of Shiho. He was already dressed to go; the lanky musician wore a white button down shirt under a v-neck black sweater, and fitted jeans. For a brief moment, she forgot what she was there to do - particularly due to the warm smile on his face. He just seemed so unabashedly _happy_ to see her.

“Merry Christmas, Suzui-san. I’m all ready to go. Let’s--”

“One sec, Ryo-chan! I need to give you your gift.” Shiho held up the excessively large shopping bag she carried, walking right into the studio apartment like she owned it. Stopping at the kitchen counter, she withdrew a large orchid, with magenta and white blossoms. “Ta-da~!”

“Oh. That’s pretty.” Ryoichi said, walking over to look at the plant.

“Mmhm! It’s an orchid.” Shiho said, smiling. “I know giving someone a tropical plant in the middle of the winter is a little strange, but I couldn’t resist. You’ll need--”

Ryoichi nodded. “Bright indirect sunlight, don’t overwater, and keep an eye on the color of its leaves to tell me if it’s getting too much or too little sun, if I remember right.”

He took out his phone to check something.

“Oh! And there’s special plant food I can buy to make sure it blooms, as well as this funny plastic dome thing to increase the humidity around it... Hm. North or east sun is best, huh…?”

He looked around his apartment; he smiled, placing the orchid in the window. “As it happens, this apartment faces east, so it’s perfect. It shouldn’t get too hot.” He turned to smile again at Shiho. “Thank you. I always thought I could use some color in here.”

“Oh. Uh… Good.” Shiho mumbled, a little confused by Ryoichi’s easy going attitude. After all, Shiho was intentionally giving him an obligation disguised as a gift. She purposely picked out a harder to care for plant. She ignored the way her heart skipped a beat at that stupidly charming smile, instead deciding to push the clinginess factor up to 11.

“I’m glad you’re so into this, Ryoichi. You know, in a way, this orchid might represent our relationship. If you take good care of it, it’ll bloom! And if you don’t, it’ll _die_ . You wouldn’t let our love _die_ , would you?” Shiho said, her eyes intentionally a little wider than necessary, her smile slightly soulless and creepy.

“Obviously not.” Ryoichi said, unperturbed at the odd statement. He slid the plant slightly over on the windowsill, standing back to admire it. “Perfect.”

“And when your family gets home, you can tell them _all_ about me when they see the orchid.” Shiho said, looking around at the small apartment. “It’ll be… ...wait. How many of you live here?”

“Oh. I live alone.” Ryoichi shrugged.

Shiho blinked. Of course. She had been so distracted by the failure of the plant tactic that she hadn’t noticed that she was now in a small studio apartment with her very attractive trial-basis boyfriend who lived alone. And who was now walking towards her with a little smile and sparkle in his eyes. Her eyes widened sincerely, now; she backed up, thudding lightly into the closet door. She stared at him, clutching at the front of her coat in a vain attempt to calm her heart down.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like him - it wasn’t that she didn’t find him attractive. She just had something specific in mind tonight, which is why she had to take him out on a terrible date, not be stuck inside with him in his tiny studio apartment where there were no witnesses aside from the orchid that Haru suggested. He reached for her, a graceful hand coming close to her face.

_‘Should I close my eyes? Should I push him down--AWAY? I meant away, brain! This isn’t part of the plant! I mean plan! And how does he know so much about orchids anyways?!’_

He was _right_ in front of her. Kissing distance. Her heart was racing so much that it felt like one long, single beat.

“OUT! WE NEED TO GO OUT!” Shiho screamed/squeaked. 

“..!?! ...Oh. Well, yes.” Ryoichi nodded at the closet Shiho was leaning against. “I need to get my coat.”

Shiho watched numbly as he reached past here and withdrew a green duffle coat - of course, _that_ looked good on him, too - and put his boots on. He turned, holding his hand out to Shiho.

“Shall we?”

“Y-yeah…” Shiho mumbled. She put her own shoes back on; she took Ryoichi’s hand as they walked away from his apartment. She glanced up at him; the musician just smiled back at her, chuckling a little.

“You know, some people think orchids are really hard to take care of?” Ryoichi said, looking ahead to the subway station. “My mom used to grow them, though, so it isn’t a problem for me. And I really like the color of the one you gave me.”

“You… you don’t say!” Shiho said, laughing awkwardly. In truth, she hadn’t paid much attention to the color of the blooms, instead just asking Haru to help her choose a plant that was difficult to take care of. Evidently, it wasn’t difficult enough. “I had someone help me pick this one out. She has a really good eye for flowers.”

_‘...Well. You win this round, Ryo-chan. But I’ve got more planned, even if Haru’s orchid didn’t work!’_

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Early Evening) - Shibuya, Tokyo 

Haru sneezed. She smiled gratefully and accepted the tissue paper offered by Rui. They were seated in the back of a luxury town car on their way to Okumura Foods’ annual Christmas Gala at the Cerulean Tower Hotel in Shibuya. She blew her nose carefully, cognizant of her makeup and the deep violet, high-necked sleeveless dress she wore. She adjusted one of her elbow-length gloves. The outfit was actually an almost exact replica of the dress she had worn for the heist in Sae’s Palace last year, right down to the cream-colored shawl she wore. A startling coincidence, but it would certainly fit the venue.

“Are you well, Haru-sama? Should I ask the driver to turn up the heat?” Rui asked. 

Haru shook her head. “It’s fine, Rui-san… I wonder how Shiho-chan’s doing. It was an odd request, asking for help to pick out a plant that’s a bit of a hassle to take care of for the average person. I’m not sure why she would try to drive away Kurosawa-san. They seem to like each other.”

“Mm. I can’t imagine why someone would try to push away the person they can’t stop thinking about.” Rui said, dryly.

Haru frowned, knowing that Rui was referring to Yusuke. Back in October, she was trying to accept that Yusuke didn’t think of her as more than a friend who was helping him with his art. She was trying to lay her unrequited love to rest, not wanting to go through another rejection like she had with Ren. But then he had shown up at her home, unannounced. To offer his condolences on the anniversary of her father’s death. And for the first time, he was surprisingly candid with his feelings.

He had offered the tin of rose tea hesitantly, as if worried what she would think. _‘You mentioned once that this was your favorite for stressful times, I believe…?’_

She had barely mentioned it, once, in passing.

_‘...You remembered that?’_

_‘The time we’ve spent together is… it is important to me.’_

Hope had fluttered in her chest like a caged bird. The door creaked open, making her finally give voice to the feelings she was trying to bury. All she had to do was say it. Say it, right then and there.

_‘Yusuke-kun, I--’_

And then he brought up the fundraiser. The one that conflicted with his exhibition. His slow nod and measured, almost impassive tone slammed the door shut again.

_‘I see. Then… You should probably go to that. I would never stand in the way of your obligations, Haru.’_

So things went back to normal-ish for the last two months. Haru would help him with his work - either offering advice on managing his finances or helping him network at the exhibitions that didn’t ‘stand in the way of her obligations’. She still saw him at Leblanc, where she would make him coffee and stop him from doing things like resting his elbow in a plate of curry as he worked.

But there was a wall, now. There was something he wasn’t saying, and there was certainly something _she_ wasn’t saying.

The last time she spoke with him was on the 20th. It was the day that the Winter Cup had started, and Haru had just arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium alongside Rui.

Breathlessly, Yusuke had actually run to meet her, his eyes almost wild.

_‘H...Haru! Are… are you free on the 24th?!’_

She had stood shock still alongside Rui. Her mouth opened, already starting to say ‘Yes, I am’ - until her rational mind and fear of disappointment caught up. She had pursed her lips and shaken her head.

_‘No. I’m already committed to the company Christmas Gala, Yusuke-kun.’_

She sounded colder than she intended. But it was the only way to stop herself from impulsively throwing caution to the wind, the only way to stop herself from putting herself in the position to be hurt again.

 _‘I… You_ **_have_ ** _to go?’_

_‘Why is it so important for me to see you on Christmas Eve?’_

Silence. Even with that clear opening, the artist seemingly couldn’t - or wouldn’t - say anything.

Haru had brushed past Yusuke, heading inside the gymnasium. Her last words to him were something along the lines of ‘you should find your seat’. She couldn’t really recall. At that point, her own voice sounded hollow to her. They hadn’t spoken since then.

She lightly bonked her forehead against the glass of the car window. How had things become this way? When she joined the Phantom Thieves last year, she regained so much. Her strength. Her courage. Her mother’s legacy. She had gone from pawn to player, taking the reins of her family’s company and rebuilding their shattered reputation. That wasn’t the act of a coward. Despite her youth, with the help of her friends, Rui, and some trusted allies and mentors within the company, she had shown herself to be a worthy successor to the Okumura name.

And yet, here she was, sitting in a car on the way to some gala that she didn’t really want to go to because she was so afraid of being rejected by Yusuke. 

“...This is an utter waste of time.” Haru mumbled. She couldn’t help but wonder what Yusuke would have said to her if she had gone to him tonight.

“Excuse me, Haru-sama?” Rui asked.

Haru coughed, snapping back to reality. “Nothing. It’s nothing. ...Say, Rui-san. What do you think of Sugimura-san?”

“He’s done well with the non-profit.” Rui said, with her usual carefully neutral expression. “I think most people would say that he’s done quite a bit to repair his family’s name, if not their fortune. Though, I don’t think the man cares much for the money anyhow.”

“Yes. I think that’s quite clear.” Haru said. She rolled her shoulders, drawing herself up. “He asked me to be his date tonight. People seem to think we’d actually make a good match.”

“Some of those are the same people who wanted you to sell your controlling stake in the company and marry ‘someone respectable’.” Rui said, flatly. “It’s not like you to care what they think. And it’s not like you to run away.”

“I-I’m _not running!_ ” Haru stammered, glaring at her friend and confidant.

“Then why are you in this car, Haru-sama?” Rui asked, calmly.

“Because this is my company, remember? We’re going to go to the gala--...” Haru blinked, looking out the window as they passed by Korakuen Hall, a boxing arena in Bunkyo. They were going the opposite direction from the Cerulean Tower Hotel.

Rui smiled faintly, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you sure about that?”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Early Evening) - Bunkyo, Tokyo 

Kaname nimbly leapt back from the curb as a black luxury town car drove by, narrowly avoiding getting splashed with the muddy slush.

“HEY! Watch it!” She shook her gloved fist. For a split second, she thought the occupant of the vehicle looked familiar, but she could only see the back of the woman’s head as the car disappeared into the distance. Auburn hair, and she was gesturing sharply at someone else sitting in the car.

The petite first year student grumbled, smoothing out the red skirt she was wearing. She bit her lip and tugged at the hem. It seemed too short for a white Christmas, but at least the leggings and brown leather boots she picked out were warm. More precisely, the leggings and brown leather boots she had been _allowed_ to pick out were warm. The rest of her outfit wasn’t her doing.

_‘Okaa-san, Otou-san, I’m going!’_

_‘Okay, have fun, Kana-chan-- Wait! Wait a second! Is_ **_that_ ** _what you’re wearing?! That won’t do at all! Aren’t you going out on a date?!’_

Shinji and Hana Takeda were staying with the Shinodas in Tokyo for the Winter Cup and to spend some time with their daughter. After ensuring that Ren was going to be looked after, she parted ways with Kaoru to go home and get ready for their date. For Kaname, that meant throwing on a pair of jeans and hoodie. She wasn’t a complete tomboy - after all, when she met Ren’s friends last year, she had put on a cute sundress in order to sucker them all into a sense of false security. But getting dressed up for a Christmas Eve date was something that twisted her stomach up into knots and somehow made her so happy and anxious and annoyed that she gave up after an hour of indecision and grabbed a worn pair of jeans and sweater.

Unfortunately, Hana Takeda wasn’t about to let her stepdaughter out the door like that. Kaname tried to slip out without being seen, but she was captured by Hana and Sawako Shinoda, Coach Shinoda’s wife. Before the spitfire knew it, she had been dolled up in a pretty red skirt (because she ‘had to’ wear red, apparently), a stylish sweater, and a double-breasted white peacoat. And on top of _that_ , her long hair was out of its customary ponytail in favor of an elaborate braid.

Apparently, it was cute.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s a cute little thing like you doing all alone on Christmas Eve?” A pair of college-aged students approached Kaname, sleazy grins etched on their faces as they looked around for likely targets. Girls that looked alone, stood-up, or just cute and harmless.

Kaname smiled. She spoke pleasantly.

“ _Die_.”

“Well in that case, why don’t we wait together and have a little--” He blinked. Apparently he was expecting a polite refusal and some excuse, like ‘I’m waiting for my boyfriend.’ “What was that?”

“I said, _die_.” Kaname’s warm smile became something more akin to a wild animal baring its teeth. “If you don’t understand, maybe I can help you--”

“Sorry! She’s with me!” Kaoru appeared, grabbing Kaname’s hand and quickly leading them away.

“?! Iwai, what are you doing? I can take them!”

“I know! I’m not protecting you, I’m protecting _them_!” Kaoru said, one hundred percent sincere.

Kaname blinked. She couldn’t help but laugh at that. They came to a stop just outside Tokyo Dome City. The amusement park was lit up with Christmas lights; there were already couples as far as the eye could see filing into the place. Young lovers clinging to and fawning over each other as they headed to the Winter Lights Garden, one of the most romantic Christmas Eve dates possible.

As Kaoru performed a double take at her outfit, she became incredibly conscious of the fact that she and her boyfriend looked _exactly_ like everyone else.

“Aw, look at them! They have to be first year high schoolers or something. So cute!”

Well, not _exactly_ like everyone else. They certainly looked young compared to most of the people out tonight. Embarrassed, Kaname resisted the urge to wrench her hand away from Kaoru. After all, he had made good on his end of the bet.

_‘If I win at the Winter Cup, can we go out on Christmas Eve?’_

Kaname clenched her free hand into a fist. “I...Iwai. Can you stop staring?!”

“S-sorry, Kana-chan.” Kaoru smiled nervously. “You just look _really_ cute.”

Kaname blushed. Reflexively she reached over and punched Kaoru’s shoulder. “You…! Saying things like that in public…”

“Heh.” Kaoru chuckled. “Should have expected that. Ready to go?”

“Mm.”

Kaoru turned away from Tokyo Dome City, instead heading in the direction of the adjacent Korakuen Hall.

“Wait. Where are we going?” Kaname asked in confusion. “I thought you wanted to go on a Christmas Eve date? Why are we going to a boxing arena?!”

“Ah… Well.” Kaoru smiled, reaching into his coat. He produced two tickets. “I talked to Amamiya-senpai and his friends about what you might enjoy, and this seemed to make more sense than anything else.”

Kaname stared blankly at the tickets. They were ringside seats to watch a boxing match for the JBC Middleweight title.

Kaoru sighed. “Though, I feel bad. You put in all this effort in dressing up, and I’m dragging you to a boxing match. I wonder if I screwed up. We can still go to Tokyo Dome--”

“It’s perfect.” Kaname said, laughing. “It’s _perfect_. We’ll have to thank Renpai.”

Kaoru returned her smile, squeezing Kaname’s hand as they headed in. “He helped with getting the tickets… but it was actually Sakamoto-senpai’s idea.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Evening) - Asakusa, Tokyo 

Makoto and Ryuji squared off, exchanging cold, stern gazes. They faced each other down like two dueling gunslingers waiting for high noon.

“Sekigahara.” Makoto said.

“October 21, 1600.” Ryuji replied.

“Midway.” Makoto shot back.

“June 4, 1942.” Ryuji returned immediately.

“Jachin Due.” Makoto said, poker face intact.

“Trick question. That’s from Gundam SEED. But since you asked, April 17, 70th year of the Cosmic Era.” Ryuji chuckled.

He grinned. Makoto smiled back at him from her side of the coffee table in her small apartment in Asakusa. The two were spending the evening inside. While a study date was hardly the most romantic way to spend Christmas Eve, entrance exams were coming up. Makoto wanted to help Ryuji attain his goal of becoming a teacher. Partly because he was her boyfriend, of course - she fought back the usual giddy feeling that accompanied that - but also because as the year had gone by, it had become so abundantly clear that he would be a _wonderful_ teacher. 

His volunteer work at the daycare was still going well, to the point where Kawahara-sensei had him on speed dial. And he was a great mentor to all the underclassmen on the track team. The only sticking point was that even though his grades were now good enough to get into a decent teaching program, he still had a tendency to get distracted while studying.

And that was _precisely_ why Makoto was suspicious.

When Makoto told him last week that they were going to stay in to study, Ryuji hadn’t voiced a single word of protest. At the time, she assumed that even he was feeling the pressure of exams. But tonight he had shown up at her door not only half an hour early for their ‘date’, but ready to immediately buckle down and focus. And then during the entire session, she didn’t have to keep him on task even once. Instead, Ryuji dutifully applied himself. Not once did Makoto have to take away his phone or check his textbooks for hidden manga.

Makoto looked over at him from her own notes. She was _trying_ to study, but her curiosity was slowly getting the better of her. Something was going on; he was hiding something from her, or else trying to butter her up to cover for something he did or was about to do. Ryuji looked up, apparently feeling her eyes on him. He smiled.

“Did I get one of those dates wrong after all, Makoto?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s nothing, Ryuji.”

She returned to studying. She smiled slightly, shaking her head.

 _‘I’m being silly. I’m sure he’s just worried about exams, so he’s working extra hard.’_ She glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Oh, Ryuji. It’s time to take a break.”

Ryuji paused, but didn’t put down his pen. “...Actually, Makoto, I’m doin’ fine. Can we keep going? I wanna finish this math workbook--”

Makoto’s pen clattered to the surface of the coffee table. She stared at Ryuji incredulously, her jaw agape. That was _way_ too much. That wasn’t ‘worried about exams’, that was ‘so out of character it might be a brain injury’.

“...Makoto?”

Makoto stood up, making sure to keep her boyfriend within line of sight. She slowly backed up to her apartment’s front door; she felt behind her for the lock, turning it with a click before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She swiped through her contacts, finding Ren’s contact number.

“Makoto? What are you doing?” Ryuji asked, confused.

“I’m calling Joker.” Makoto said, keeping her eyes on Ryuji.

“...Why?”

“Because my boyfriend’s been replaced by some sort of Shadow. Or he’s had his heart changed. Or something.” Makoto said. She frowned. Joker wasn’t picking up.

Ryuji stood up, shaking his head. “Come on, Makoto. What’s the big idea?” He took a few steps towards her.

Makoto grabbed a nearby umbrella, pointing it at Ryuji like a sword. “Who are you, and what have you done with Ryuji?! If you’ve hurt him, I swear--”

“I’m me!” Ryuji yelped, holding his hands up.

“That’s exactly what a Shadow would say!” Makoto shot back. “What’s up with you? _Math_ ? Since when does Ryuji Sakamoto want to do _math_?!”

Ryuji blinked. He smiled sheepishly. “...Heh. I guess you’re right. I was bein’ pretty obvious, huh?”

Makoto eyed Ryuji suspiciously for another moment before putting the umbrella down. “You have, Ryuji. What did you do? Or, what are you hiding from me?”

“Ah… Well, I was hopin’ that if I worked hard enough, we could still go out tonight?” Ryuji chuckled. “S’why I showed up early, too. I mean, the only thing we haven’t finished workin’ on tonight is math, right?”

Makoto relaxed, sighing in relief. “Is that it? I don’t know, Ryuji. Entrance exams are coming up. You should really focus… And it’s already pretty late for Christmas Eve, isn’t it? Even if we left right now, most things aren’t going to be open for much longer. And even if they are, they’re probably completely packed…”

“I’ve got us covered, Makoto. Like I said, the only thing left is math, right? I think I can finish that in another twenty minutes. And as for goin’ out, I’ve got something planned.” Ryuji grinned confidently.

Makoto’s resolve crumbled a bit at his earnest smile. He was trying _so_ hard to make this happen. But exams were important.

“I don’t know…”

Ryuji’s grin widened. He knew he had her. He stepped forward for the finishing blow. He brushed aside some of her hair aside before lightly kissing her cheek. “Please? _Senpai_ \-- Ouch!”

Makoto lightly chopped his forehead with the edge of her hand. “ _Study_.”

She pointed at the coffee table.

Ryuji blinked. He sighed, looking glum as he trudged back to the table before flopping down in his trademark slouch. “Seriously? I was--... Makoto? What are you doin’ over there?”

Makoto paused at the door to her bedroom, looking over her shoulder. She smiled wryly. “You said you can finish that workbook in twenty minutes, didn’t you? Then shouldn’t I get ready to go? But your answers better be right, Ryuji. Fast doesn’t count. Fast _and_ correct does.”

Ryuji blinked. He brightened, grinning broadly. “You can count on me!”

Makoto chuckled, ducking into her room. She looked at her phone as it buzzed.

**RA: Did you need something from Ren, Makoto? This is Ann. I have his phone**

**MN: Ah, it’s fine. How is he?**

**RA: Sleeping! I actually managed to get him to rest!**

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Evening) - Hiroo, Tokyo 

Ren woke up from his nap. He yawned, rubbing his eyes and reflexively reaching for his phone to check the time. His hand only found the smooth surface of the nightstand beside Ann’s bed. He smiled slightly, remembering that she had confiscated it from him after their bath to make sure he actually rested rather than reply to the constant stream of Christmas-related antics that Shou and Eiji were bombarding his phone with. The two were hosting a party for the ‘lonely singles’ of the boxing club, though they hardly seemed lonely based on the pictures from the karaoke place.

The boxer sat up; he was alone. Ann had snuggled in beside him to make sure he fell asleep, but she had slipped out of bed at some point. He stood carefully, stretching slowly. He winced. The bath and nap had certainly helped, but he was still sore; still beaten up. Going out for the date he had planned for them was almost certainly a no-go. He sighed.

 _‘That’s two Christmas Eves I’ve screwed up.’_ Ren thought.

He slipped a t-shirt on to go with the Badtz Maru pyjama pants Ann got for him last year. He crossed the dark room, tilting his head curiously at the light filtering in under the door. It was a bit different from the Takamaki residence’s usual lighting. It was warmer, and flickering a little.

He opened the door and froze in surprise.

Christmas lights lined both sides of the hallway, leading out to the open-plan part of the apartment. Mystified, he followed the lights. The spacious and modern LDK had been beautifully decorated with yet more strings of lights, along with candles, tinsel, and the other usual trappings of the season. The apartment lights themselves were off; everything was lit only in an incandescent glow of festive color. And best of all, the place was adorned with his girlfriend - beaming at him from the middle of the room, wearing a reindeer onesie. She wore the hood down, opting instead for an antler headband. The felt-covered horns poked up just in front of her bushy pigtails.

“Merry Christmas, Wildcard!” Ann grinned. Even in the ridiculous outfit (complete with little tail), she glowed in the warm light.

“...Heh. Merry Christmas. What’s all of this…?” Ren asked.

Ann clasped her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels. “Ehehe. Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t about to let you go out in your condition no matter _what_ , so I thought if you can’t go out for our ridiculous over the top extravagant Christmas date, why not bring our ridiculous over the top extravagant Christmas date to you?”

Ren smiled before he playfully affected a skeptical look, crossing his arms. “I don’t know… I did go all-out on planning, you know? Hard to imagine how you’d be able to pull all of that off in here.”

“Well, let me show you! First thing’s first, though.” Ann spritely pranced over to him. She reached up, placing a matching pair of antlers on his head. “There. Now, the first thing was supposed to be the Yokohama Christmas Market, right?”

“Right…”

“Then, right this way for your authentic Christmas Market cider!” Ann took his hand, leading him to the kitchen island. She triumphantly handed him a steaming mug of spiced cider. “And I somehow managed to find a place that delivers schnitzel and spaetzle, if you can believe it! And after that, I have everything we need to make crepes for our dessert buffet.”

Ren sipped the cider. His eyes widened. It was _perfect_. “Songbird, this is incredible. How did you…?”

She grinned excitedly. “Hold the applause, Wildcard. There’s more!” She took his hand again, leading him over to spot on the living room floor. There was an assortment of bottles laid out on the smooth hardwood, with another spot marked by a throw pillow resting around two metres away.

Ann positioned Ren beside the throw cushion before handing him six elastic hair ties. “It’s not a Christmas Market without games, isn’t it?” She demonstrated with another hair tie, stretching it against her thumb and ‘shooting’ it at the bottles. “You have to get the hair tie over the top of a bottle, and you can’t stand any closer than this.”

Ren glanced back and forth between the bottles and the hair ties. The hair ties were barely larger than the circumference of the bottle necks. And to his estimation, if he shot the elastic with enough force to reach the bottles, it would almost certainly result in a trajectory too flat to have any hope of landing over a bottleneck.

“I see we’re also maintaining the tradition of dubious carnival ethics.” He chuckled. “What are the stakes?”

“Hm…” Ann looked exaggeratedly thoughtful. “How about if you miss, I get a kiss?”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “If that’s the penalty, I can’t _wait_ to hear what the prize for actually winning is.” He eyed the zipper of the reindeer onesie pointedly.

Ann rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you too beaten up for _that_? Besides, you won’t win.”

“You sure?” Ren flashed a grin.

Ann waved a hand dismissively. “Fine. _If_ you win, you can demand whatever penalty you want. But you won’t.”

“Right.” Ren stood at the line. Keeping steady eye contact with Ann, he dropped five of the six hair ties on the floor without trying to shoot. “So… I have to give you _five_ kisses, then?” Ren asked, his grin becoming markedly rakish.

“Er… ...Well, yes.” Ann murmured, as Ren stepped closer. She tilted her head back; she closed her eyes.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the blush blooming on her cheek. “One…”

She giggled when he kissed the tip of her delicate nose. She grinned up at him, her blue eyes sparkling in the glow of the decorations. She rested her palms against his chest. “That tickles, Wildcard. Two.”

He pressed his lips against hers. “Three.” He savored the sound of her sigh, the press of her body against his as she slid her arms over his shoulders. They parted briefly; and then he kissed her again, deeply, capturing her soft moans.

“Four…” He murmured. He let go of her waist, opting instead to slowly unzip her onesie.

“R...Ren! You’re just supposed to kiss me!” Ann gasped. She half-heartedly batted at his hand as he started to tug the outfit off entirely.

“I know. We didn’t specify _where_ I get to kiss you.” He replied. He nuzzled at her neck as he walked her backwards to the sofa. He started to guide her onto the plush surface with one arm, the other hand continuing to undress her. She melted into his arms, her protests fading as she started to clutch at him, gasping softly at the feeling of his lips on her skin. Ren smiled smugly. It was nice that he still had this effect on her. The impromptu home-Christmas Market was forgotten; the plush surface of the sofa beckoned.

He got about halfway down before his back seized up on him.

“Geh…” He grimaced.

“Geh…? Ren? Ren!” Ann gasped. In an instant, their roles were reversed. She eased him back onto the sofa carefully. “Are you okay?!”

“Fine, fine.” Ren said, sighing. “It was just a small spasm.” He looked regretfully at the zipper that he had managed to unzip halfway to Ann’s navel.

She shook her head. “You… Seriously.” She pulled the zipper back up and readjusted her antler headband. She leaned down, pecking his forehead gently. “Can’t you control yourself a little?”

“It’s pretty _hard_.” Ren deadpanned.

Ann rolled her eyes. “You’re hurt, so I’ll let that one slide.” She looked up as the entry console buzzed. “Oh! I think the food’s here. Hang on.”

Ren smiled, watching her bound over to the door. As usual, his girlfriend had a way of bringing out the best of any outfit she wore, and the reindeer cosplay was no exception. She paid the delivery man and collected their order in such a way that made it look like he and Ren were the weird ones for _not_ being in costume. Ren adjusted his antlers. They had been knocked askew by the truncated makeout session.

She came back to him, kneeling beside the coffee table to lay the food out. “We can eat here, Wildcard. That way you don’t have to get off the sofa. Ah, your cider needs a refill, too…”

“Hey, Ann?”

She looked up at him from the floor. “Hm?”

“I love you.”

She paused, sitting up a little more to kiss him again. “I love you too, Ren. Don’t worry about not going out, okay? We’re going to have the best Christmas Eve ever.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Evening) - Yokohama 

_‘We’re going to have the worst Christmas Eve ever!’_

Shiho could barely hide her triumphant grin as they left the movie theatre. First, she had dragged Ryoichi to Yokohama for no reason other than the fact that it was ‘more festive’. And then rather than actually enjoying any of the sights, she had insisted on pulling them into a long line up just to watch a special holiday screening of _‘Love, Probably’,_ a movie that wasn’t even close to a new release _._ And _then_ she had gotten them kicked out by flirting in increasingly loud and cringy ways with Ryoichi. People actually applauded as they were shown out by the ushers; it was utterly humiliating. Really, she had to thank Ren for the idea of Yokohama in the first place. Not only was everything packed or sold out, but they were stuck out in the cold an hour away from Tokyo.

She looked over at the musician. Surely by now, that affable, happy facade of his would be gone. He’d show her how he really felt, and then he’d--

Ryoichi _smiled_ at her. He actually smiled, despite being thrown out and Shiho accidentally-on-purpose dumping her popcorn all over him as they got out of their seats.

“Aren’t you mad? Or embarrassed?” Shiho asked, completely bewildered at his attitude.

He shrugged. “I’ve watched that movie before, Suzui-san. So it’s not that upsetting. The main thing is that we’re together, isn’t it?”

Shiho ignored the somersault that her heart turned in her chest at the statement. Instead, she snorted, sticking out her tongue. “Lame.”

Ryoichi chuckled. “I know. So, what now?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s right in the middle of the evening now on _Christmas Eve_ . And we’re in suuuuper festive Yokohama, which means that _everything’s_ going to be absolutely packed, Ryo-chan. I guess all we can do is wander around in the cold.” Shiho said. She sighed theatrically. “It’s really too bad--”

“You! You two there, the young couple!”

Shiho blinked. She looked up to see a man dressed up as Santa. He was walking towards the two of them from the direction of the nearby Christmas Market - the one that Ren had planned to take Ann to.

Santa smiled, his eyes a-twinkle. “Would you two like to go to the Christmas Market?”

Shiho sighed. Once again, dramatically. “Oh, we’d _love_ to. But you know, it’s completely sold out--”

“Ho ho ho~!” The man guffawed, in a surprisingly good approximation of Saint Nick’s laugh. “Lucky for you, Santa has a Christmas Miracle! Two free tickets! I was holding onto these for someone, but he’s unfortunately not feeling well tonight. He texted me to tell me to give these to a deserving couple!”

Ryoichi grinned. “Oh! That _is_ lucky! Thanks!”

Shiho clenched her teeth for a moment. “Right. _Thanks_. By any chance, were you holding onto these for someone from Tokyo?”

“Why, yes! Amamiya or something. Or Kurusu, one of the two.” Santa shrugged. “I don’t know why I keep mixing those up. They sound nothing alike.”

Shiho internally grumbled as she walked with Ryoichi hand in hand towards the market. _‘Freaking Champ… Well. How bad could it be? He tends to see these things with shoujo-sparkle vision. It’s probably not as romantic as he described--’_

Shiho’s jaw dropped.

It was _incredible_ . The Christmas Market was right on the docks. It was bordered on either side by two beautiful red-brick warehouses, lovingly restored to their turn-of-the-century glory. On the other end of the fairway from the entrance was a massive skating rink, big enough so that even the large crowds of people here tonight were able to enjoy the ice. Several four metre-tall Christmas trees, immaculately manicured and decorated, dotted the area. And finally, to top it all off, a net of sparkling Christmas lights formed a ‘roof’ over the _entire market_.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Shiho mumbled. “Did… did we _die_? Is this the real life, or some kind of Christmas-inspired afterlife with schnitzel? Ryo-chan, are you seeing this--...”

As Shiho turned to Ryoichi, her jaw dropped again, now in danger of dislocation. The warm glow of the lights caught his eyes perfectly, changing them from ‘almost black’ to ‘dark chocolate’. It was just cold enough to make his cheeks rosy, too. Nearby, a passing couple halted as the woman walked directly into a lamp post with a clank. High school girls stared and pointed at Shiho’s trial-basis-boyfriend. Shiho’s heart almost stopped.

He caught Shiho’s eye. He started to smile again. That _would_ stop her heart.

Shiho clapped a hand over his mouth. “NO! NOT ALLOWED!”

Ryoichi’s eyes sparkled with amusement. Or maybe they just sparkled for _no good goddamn reason_ , because they were in a supposedly wholesome family friendly Christmas Market designed to turn already handsome trumpet players into weapons of sexy mass destruction.

Shiho coughed, regaining composure. If acting clingy and embarrassing didn’t work, then she’d turn up the heat. Or the _cold_. She sniffed. “You know, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. This looks like a lot of walking, and my shoes aren’t exactly comfortable.”

“Oh. Well, that’s easy to fix.”

“Mmhm, mmhm.” Shiho nodded. “That’s right, we’ll just have to find a place to sit and… Wait, what? What are you doing!? ...Eh?! H-h-hold on!”

Ryoichi moved quickly; within moments, she was up on his shoulders and thanking all that was holy that she decided on wearing jeans tonight.

“Ryoichi! What the hell!?” Shiho yelled, grateful she had spent so much time on leg and core exercises.

He started walking. “Well, this way, your feet won’t hurt? And besides, isn’t the view up there pretty good?”

Shiho blinked. She looked around. It really was. Ryoichi was a tall guy; she could see right over the crowds, all the way down the entire market. “It… it really is.”

“Good.” Ryoichi laughed. “So where to, Captain Suzui?”

Her protests faded. This was too much fun. Everyone was looking at them like they were insane. Shiho made a show of thinking seriously, one hand on her chin, the other gently tapping Ryoichi’s head with her index finger.

“Hm…” She pointed in the direction of the food stalls. “That way!”

She shrieked and laughed as Ryoichi took off at a canter.

Despite her intentions for the evening, Shiho found herself having a wonderful time. The food was incredible, from the authentic German bratwurst to the _not_ authentic ‘hurricane fries’. The games were fun - as usual, she got ridiculously competitive, winning giant novelty plushies for both herself (a reindeer) and Ryoichi (a penguin). And somehow, everything smelled like cinnamon and nutmeg.

She was having such a good time that she was starting to feel guilty for trying to make things awful.

“Ne, Ryo-chan. Just give me a few minutes, okay? I want to check on Blondie and the Champ. He was knocked around a lot in his fight earlier today. Can you look after Ryoichi-junior here?” Shiho said, handing her plushy to the trumpet player. Ryoichi nodded with a certain solemn gravitas, despite having a giant penguin (Mini-Shiho) stuffed under one arm and a reindeer (Ryoichi-junior) under the other.

“No problem, Captain. I’ll look after Ryoichi-junior and Mini-Shiho.”

Shiho slipped away, taking out her phone. She called Ann - thankfully, her bestie picked up.

“Shiho? Is everything okay?”

“Ah, hey, Blondie. Sorry to interrupt you. How’s the Champ?”

“He’s fine. We’re just working on our dessert buffet. Crepes, ice cream, and Nutella.”

Shiho smiled. “The Holy Trinity. Festive.”

“Here. Let me just go to the other room.” A short pause. “So… How’s things?”

Shiho bit her lip. “...So, I’m on a date with Ryo-chan.”

“And…?”

Shiho sighed. “And it was supposed to be the worst date ever.”

“Right.” Ann replied, almost instantly.

“...You’re not surprised?”

“Not even a little. Wildcard told me how you were taking notes about his Christmas Eve date plans… And right around the same time, we watched _‘How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days’._ And I’m pretty sure I remember Haru mentioning something about you asking for advice about plants that were difficult to take care of. So, it wasn’t hard to figure out what you were planning.” Ann said. “...Want to tell me why?”

Shiho bit her lip. “...It’s stupid, but I’m just trying to see if he’s really _in_ this, you know? I… I just don’t get him. He never pushes me. It’s been two months since we started this, but he hasn’t even tried to kiss me. But at the same time, he’s always happy to see me. I just… I want to know if he really cares about me, before I really invest in this…”

Shiho trailed off. The reason sounded hollow, even to her. She couldn’t lie to her best friend. She sighed, speaking quietly.

“Can… Can I ask you something?”

“Always, Shiho.”

“Isn’t it scary? Isn’t it scary, to let someone in the way you’ve let Ren in? What if he hurts you? What if he turns out to be some horrible monster that takes your trust and uses it to break you…?” Shiho asked. “What if… what if you’re falling head over heels in love with him, only to find out that it was just some game to him? Wouldn’t it be better to just end it before that happens?”

“Shiho…”

“I wouldn’t be able to take it, Ann!” Shiho wiped at her eyes, her voice starting to break. “I wouldn’t be able to take it at all. I feel like I spent all of last year putting myself back together again. I felt like I was ready for this. But it’s scary. It’s so scary. I can’t do anything but think about him and his stupid smile, and the way he makes me feel so _warm_ , but I can’t help but remember… I keep remembering the last time I _trusted_ a guy.”

Shiho cried in earnest. There it was. That was it. That was one of the reasons why she spent so much time living through her friends; why she spent so much time trying to better the lives of others. It was safe.

It meant that she didn’t have to really trust anyone. It meant she didn’t have to put her well-being and future into the hands of someone that might hurt her. It meant that she wouldn’t fall victim to another Kamoshida.

“I know it’s not the same! I know! I wasn’t in love with that bastard, but he was a teacher! I _admired_ him! I _trusted_ him! I trusted him and he tried to take away everything! He tried to… and he was going to hurt _you,_ too...”

She quietly sobbed, unable to say more. She felt awful for even having Ryoichi in the same thought as that monster; she _knew_ he wasn’t the same. Every day, she was falling deeper and deeper in love with him. But knowing and feeling were very different things. She wanted to be near him, but was scared senseless of _needing_ him. She was also too scared to break it off on her own - and thus, she came up with the worst date ever, telling herself she was just ‘testing’ him. Really, some part of her hoped she’d drive him off; hoped that she could go back to something known. Something safe.

After a moment, Ann broke the silence.

“...It _is_ scary, Shiho.” Ann said, softly. “I’ve told Ren before that there’s nothing he can do that would ever make me scared of him. I wasn’t lying. I’ll never be scared _of_ him. But he keeps doing things that make me scared _for_ him, like the fight tonight. And thinking about what things will be like if he goes pro. And everything that happened last year. And our career paths aren’t exactly known for stability, you know? What if I end up halfway across the world? What if he ends up on the _other_ half, fighting God knows who, God knows where? What if he decides he needs to drop everything to become the best boxer he can be and ends up some weird modern-day warrior monk like Mamoru Yamanaka?”

Another pause. Shiho heard Ann take a breath.

“...It’s scary… it’s terrifying, to have so much of my happiness wrapped up in someone else. I can’t tell you what to do, Shiho. But I can tell you this - for me, it’s completely worth it. I… I love him. I want to spend the rest of my life figuring out what to do with him.” Ann said. “Even if he has a boxing glove for a brain sometimes and treats his body like a rental car.”

“So… if you want my advice, Shiho… _Talk_ to Kurosawa. If you want to know where you two stand, then ask him. You’re not an idiot. If it looks like it’s not going anywhere or he’s lying or insincere, you’ll know. And then we’ll watch more movies and eat terrible food until you’re ready to move on and try again. If he’s not lying… If there’s something there, or even the hope that something could be there…” Ann paused. Shiho could hear the little smile in her friend’s voice. “Then, I want my best friend to have what I have, you know?”

Shiho sighed. She smiled, sniffling once more and drying her eyes on her scarf. “...Thanks, Blondie. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Shiho sighed. _‘Guess I should go get the boy, then.’_

Ryoichi was there where she left him, talking to two other boys. Shiho recognized them - they were also Shujin students. Shiho had seen them before in Ryoichi’s homeroom.

“...Haha, nice move, Kurosawa.” One of them said, grinning.

The other smirked. “Just like you, man. Sweep her off her feet with a romantic evening, and then _sweep her off her feet_ , right? Don’t know why you’re trying so hard, though. I mean, vulnerable chicks like her put out easy, don’t they? Hell, that’s why you started dating her, isn’t it? Because Kamoshida basically broke her in, haha.”

Ryoichi started to reply - until he spotted Shiho. She stood frozen to the spot, unable to say a thing.

Shiho turned and bolted.

“...Shit! Suzui-san! Suzui-san, wait!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry/not sorry for the cliffhanger.
> 
> Picture of Yokohama Christmas Market taken right off their website.
> 
> How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days - 2003 romcom where the heroine is a writer who writes an article chronicling how she's going to start dating a guy and then drive him away using 'classic mistakes' in dating. This is where the 'love fern' joke originates. (She gives him a fern. The fern represents their love.)
> 
> On Haru - Being brave/strong in one area doesn't mean you're the same everywhere. She's been hurt. Notably, by Ren (though it wasn't anyone's fault). And digging deeper, just when she was on the verge of reconciling with her father, he was also taken from her. Poor floof has learned that getting close to people = means they might be taken away before she even has a chance. Luckily, she's got Tachibana pushing her on.
> 
> Kaname's outfit is basically the same as Asuna's outfit from SAO when she and Kirito meet up for a date at the start of Ordinal Scale.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now the conclusion of the Christmas episode.
> 
> NSFW at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hikiboshi - Refers to the story of Tanabata. Princess Orihime met a cow herder by the name of Hikoboshi, and the two fell in love, neglecting their responsibilities. Orihime stopped weaving clothes for her father and Hikiboshi was so taken with Orihime that he allowed his cows to wander aimlessly all over the heavens.
> 
> Rainbow Bridge - Bridge in Tokyo crossing Northern Tokyo Bay
> 
> Tokushusakusengun - Rui's previous Special Forces unit
> 
> zamboni - Ice cleaning/smoothing vehicle

December 24, 2017 (Evening) - Bunkyo, Tokyo 

“Rui-san! Rui-san, _wait_!” Haru yelled. They were just outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and Haru’s reliable bodyguard and confidant was carefully (but firmly) hauling the one time heiress and current de facto head of Okumura Foods out of the car.

Rui closed the door. She then carefully straightened out Haru’s shawl, ignoring the auburn-haired girl’s indignant glare.

“What if I just ordered you to put me back in the car, Rui-san?” Haru huffed.

“Then I’d do it.” Rui replied without hesitation.

“Then I order--”

“--Before you do that, Haru-sama. May I speak freely?” Rui asked.

Haru paused. Rui rarely felt the need to actually _ask_ to speak freely. It usually meant that whatever Rui had to say, it was important. She put her irritation aside, gesturing with a gloved hand. “Fine.”

“Do you know how I met your mother?” Rui asked.

Haru was taken aback by the strange question. “I just assumed that my father hired you…”

Rui shook her head. “He did. But only because your mother referred me. I met her when she was still Kurenai Shimizu, an up-and-coming botanist at Tokyo University. One of her soil reclamation projects was in a country that used to be a war zone, and my unit was sent to escort her and the other scientists. We became friends… In fact, she even saved my life. Stopped me from stepping on a landmine. So when it became clear that she was joining the Okumura household and needed a bodyguard and confidant, I jumped at the chance.”

Rui crossed her arms, leaning back against the car. She smiled slightly in recollection. “Almost everything Kurenai did was grounded in rationality… Until she met Kunikazu. You might not know this, but he _courted_ her. Even though it was an arranged marriage.”

Haru nodded; she learned this from the cognition of her mother within her father’s Palace.

Rui chuckled.

“She was dumbfounded at first. She responded to his gestures with confusion. ‘Why is he even bothering? Doesn’t he know I’m marrying him anyway?’ she’d ask. ‘I’m busy with trying to finish up my research before we get married!’ she’d complain. But then she started smiling while complaining. Humming the songs they danced to when he _finally_ managed to drag her out on a date. She started to act outside rationality… She fell in love with him. And I firmly believe because of that, she was able to love you even more when you came along.”

“You need to understand that Kurenai used to be the kind of person who thought that everything had an explanation. Phrases like ‘act of God’ to her were just an admission of sloth or failure. After all, she taught you to ‘make your conclusions only after you’ve considered all of the available information,’ and to think critically to avoid bias.” Rui continued. “But… She died before she could teach you something else about that.”

“And what’s that…?” Haru asked, fascinated. This was by far the most she had ever heard Rui say at one time.

“That some things defy all reason.” Rui smiled. “I asked her how she felt about Kunikazu Okumura on the day of their wedding. What she said to me was, ‘Rui… I’ve considered everything I know about love and Kunikazu. I’ve tried to piece together why I feel the way I do. There is only one reasonable, rational conclusion I can come to: love doesn’t make a single god damned bit of sense. Now, can you stop staring at me and help me zip up this fucking dress so I can get married?’”

Haru blinked; she burst out laughing at the thought of her gentle, brilliant mother cursing like a soldier. “She _didn’t!_ ”

“Oh, she did.” Rui laughed. She smiled softly. “She did. And she wanted you to learn that, too. She wanted you to experience the kind of love that’s joyful, stupid, and doesn’t make a lick of god damned sense.”

Haru closed her eyes, recalling the words of Cognitive Kurenai.

_‘The memory of Kurenai Okumura lives on in your heart, too. And nothing would make your mother more joyful or more proud than to see her clever little girl happy and free to live, to love.’_

Haru opened her eyes at the feeling of Rui’s hands on her shoulders. She looked up at the tall ex-soldier, tears brimming in her eyes. To her surprise, Rui looked like she was on the verge of crying, too.

“She would already be _so_ proud of you, Ojou-sama.” Rui said, using the epithet so affectionately that Haru almost heard it as ‘sister’. “But she would be beyond happy if you went in there, walked up to that lanky artist, and planted a kiss right on his oblivious face.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Evening) - Bunkyo, Tokyo 

Yusuke waited in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, pacing back and forth in front of his latest work. He looked at his phone yet again, still in disbelief over the texts he had exchanged earlier in the day.

**RT: Be at the art museum tonight. In front of that painting you wanted to show Haru-sama.**

**YK: ...Tachibana-san? How did you get this number? And how do you know about the painting?**

**RT: It’s me.**

**YK: Indeed. Silly of me to ask. Why do I need to be there?**

**RT: Because I’ll ensure that Haru-sama will be there to hear what you need to say.**

And so, Yusuke was pacing a groove into the smooth tiled floor of the museum while wearing the finest clothes he owned (his Kosei uniform) while carefully rehearsing the words he had prepared over and over in his mind.

_‘Haru, over the past year, I have had the honor and pleasure of your company and assistance. During this time, I have found myself increasingly drawn to your compassion, beauty, and warmth. You are the Lady Kaguya to my Emperor; the Roxane to my Cyrano; the Princess Orihime to my Hikoboshi. Indeed, so radiant are you in my eyes that like Hikiboshi, I too would allow my cows to wander amongst the stars due to the distraction of your captivating presence…’_

A quiet cough broke Yusuke out of his internal monologue. He looked up, and all the words tumbled out of his head. Indeed, as Ren had told him so frequently last year, monologues weren’t a safe zone from surprise attacks.

Haru stood there in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her waist. He stared numbly at her, in her beautiful violet even dress, elbow-length gloves and shawl. He felt like the proverbial frog to Haru’s princess.

“Good evening, Yusuke-kun.” She said, politely. She had a faint blush on her cheeks.

Yusuke made an odd, croaking sort of sound. Frog indeed.

“...Yusuke-kun?”

“...Cows.” Yusuke mumbled, helplessly.

Haru sighed. “...Yusuke-kun. This is ridiculous. I’ll just come out and say it. I…”

Yusuke held up a hand. Words were failing him. Of course they were - they weren’t his medium of choice. He was an artist, after all. He reached over to the cloth covering the painting on the wall; he gave it a sharp pull and revealed his latest work - the piece he had spent the last two months slaving over, until it just started to creep into the realm of what he felt was worthy.

Worthy of _her_.

Objectively, Yusuke felt that the painting was his best work yet, outstripping even _‘Faith and Vengeance’_ in terms of technical skill, colors, and beauty. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was the reaction of the girl standing before him; what she thought of his painting of a Greek muse: a muse who bore an unmistakable resemblance to Haru. Light, music, _everything_ seemed to radiate from the woman in the picture. If _‘Sayuri’_ was Yusuke’s perfect idea of motherly love and beauty, _‘Noir’_ was his idea of something… some _one_ so bright in his eyes that she simultaneously made him a brilliant painter but complete dolt all at once.

His knees felt weak as he watched her. She looked up at the painting, her expressive eyes widening in shock as she studied the painting. She composed herself after a moment, looking at Yusuke calmly.

“Is this how you see me?”

He thought he detected something in her voice; a faint tremble underneath the polite calm.

Yusuke just nodded, biting his lip. “...Yes.” He stared down at the tile floor. “I… ...What do you think?”

He heard her move; she filled his vision as she closed the distance between them. She stood in front of him, hesitating; the faint blush on her cheek bloomed as she stood on her toes. The soft touch of her lips on his cheek was accompanied by the sharp draw of his breath.

She smiled up at him.

“I love you too, Yusuke-kun.”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Shinagawa, Tokyo 

“I love you!”

“Eeeeh!? Ichiro-san, why are you saying something like that in public?!”

“Christmas cake! We’re down to our last three, folks! Get ‘em while you can!”

“Seriously, I can’t believe he stood you up!”

The sounds and conversations of the crowd were sharper than usual to Makoto as she walked down the street hand in hand with Ryuji. She chewed on her lower lip; it took every ounce of self-control she had to not wrench her hand free and take off at a run for the nearest taxi or subway station. It wasn’t the public unprotected hand holding that was driving her to distraction. She was used to that by now, and actually liked walking around with Ryuji like that. Rather, her embarrassment had more to do with what she was wearing. The reason for her heightened sense of hearing.

“Ne, ne! Look over there, Aika-chan! That girl’s _blindfolded!”_

“Oh my God! He’s taking her out on a surprise date! That’s so cute!”

Makoto cringed. “Ryuji… Can’t I take this thing off yet? Honestly…”

“Sorry, Makoto!” Ryuji replied cheerfully. “No can do. RenRen and I talked it over. For the most dramatic effect, this has to stay on until we get there.”

“Get where, exactly? There’s still people around, but it’s so late. Everything’s going to be closed or full!”

“Trust me. I didn’t bring us to Shinagawa for nothin’, Makoto.”

Makoto couldn’t help but smile a little, despite her embarrassment. As usual, his excitement was infectious.

“Alright, Ryuji… I trust you.”

He led her off the sidewalk; she could tell that much. The sounds of the streets and crowds grew distant. They came to a stop somewhere.

“Hey. You’re the kid who works for Munehisa?” A gruff voice asked.

Makoto blinked under the blindfold. _‘Munehisa? Does he mean Munehisa Iwai, the owner of that airsoft shop…? ...Doesn’t he have yakuza connections?!’_

Makoto’s mind raced. What exactly had Ryuji gotten them into? Was this illegal?

“Yep! That’s me, man. Is this how we get in?” Ryuji sounded completely unperturbed.

“Sure is, kid.” The stranger chuckled. “I can see why you’re going through all the trouble. She’s cute. Just don’t do anything stupid in there, okay? It’s my neck on the line. If either of you get hurt or word gets out that you were in there after hours…”

“We’ll be careful. Thanks.”

Makoto’s heart raced as Ryuji led her inside a building. She could tell; the air changed and the sounds of the city faded completely. She spoke at a whisper. “Ryuji! Who was that?! Where are we!? If we’re doing anything illegal, you have to get me out of here _right now!_ I’m aiming at a career in law enforcement, remember?!”

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It’s not illegal, Makoto. We’re just bendin’ the rules a little bit. Here. Let me just put you in the right spot…”

Makoto let Ryuji lead her somewhere. The ground was hard; the air felt cool. It smelled slightly of salt, and she thought she could hear the sound of water flowing. Ryuji took off her blindfold.

“Finally, I… ...Oh my _God_ …”

For a few moments, Makoto forgot to breathe. With her perfect memory, she immediately recognized the layout of the tanks and the shape of the room. This was the Maxell Aqua Park aquarium in Shinagawa. But the place had been completely transformed through light projections and specially designed floors and walls. She spun to look at Ryuji. He grinned at her, as a rainbow projection of a humpback whale passed under him on the floor before ‘swimming’ onto the wall and vanishing.

“RenRen told me about this…” Ryuji said. He looked down, stepping on one of the sensors on the floor.. Light rippled out from his foot, as if he had stepped into actual water; dolphins of light started to swim around the two of them, chasing snowflakes. Hidden speakers came to life with the playful chatter of dolphin songs. “The entire aquarium gets lit up like this. Apparently it’s actually not really that great to come here during Christmas Eve. The place is packed, and there’s couples everywhere you look…”

Makoto looked around curiously. They were completely alone. “...So this is why you didn’t care that it was late?”

Ryuji nodded. “Yeah… Right now, I’m pretty sure that other than Iwai-san’s buddy, we’re the only people in here. It’s just us, the lights, and the fish.”

One of the light dolphins by coincidence paused by Ryuji, squawking loudly. It was as if the projected animal was protesting at being called a fish. It wasn’t _that_ interactive, but the timing was impeccable. 

“And cetaceans.” Makoto said, smiling. She took Ryuji’s hand again, kissing his cheek. “This is unbelievable, Ryuji…”

Ryuji blushed faintly. “Heh… Yeah. Hey! Come on, let’s walk around!”

The two took in the sights, looking around in wonder at the combination of the sea life and the interactive light projections. Sounds of the ocean filtered in over the speakers. True to Ryuji’s word, the two of them seemed to be the only humans in the aquarium. To Makoto, it felt like they were exploring the bottom of an iridescent sea, just the two of them. Ryuji seemed to be getting progressively quieter as they went on, though. She looked at him curiously as he led her down the underwater tunnel-tank, where visitors were surrounded by 180 degrees of water.

“Ryuji? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing…” Ryuji mumbled. “...Hey. Do you remember the last time we were here?”

Makoto nodded; her memory was perfect, after all. “Mm. It was last year, in the summer.”

They had never been on a date here before. At least, not a _real_ date. They came here together in August of last year, when the two of them were just going on ‘practice dates’ for their mutual benefit: Makoto, so she could learn how to act naturally with her ‘boyfriend’ in order to investigate Eiko, and Ryuji, so he could learn how to properly pursue Hifumi.

“I thought you would.” Ryuji said, coming to a halt in a small sitting area. He gestured at the bench; Makoto sat down with him. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, looking up at the bioluminescent jellies that floated all around them.

“...I was a real idiot, back then.” Ryuji said, softly.

Makoto turned to him. “...What do you mean, Ryuji? We weren’t even dating, back then. And you still had a crush on Hifumi…”

Ryuji shook his head. “I did. But can I tell you something embarrassing?”

Makoto looked at Ryuji curiously as he turned back to the glass wall of the tunnel.

“Remember how we bumped into Hifumi outside the aquarium? And then you made up that excuse for me, that I’m good with kids so you wanted my advice on buying a gift for your cousin?”

“You _are_ good with kids.” Makoto said. Ryuji was blushing again. He really _was_ embarrassed.

“And I remember. I used B-chan as an excuse.” Makoto said, thinking of the body-pillow sized bottlenose dolphin stuffed toy she had gotten on their previous visit.

“Heh. Yeah.” Ryuji said. “...Well, I just thought you should know that after you left me with Hifumi back then… I uh… ...I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about what we would have done together if we hadn’t bumped into her. About what we would have talked about.”

“Oh…!” Makoto started to smile softly as Ryuji squeezed her hand again.

“I just wanted to tell you that even then, I was already at the point where I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you, Makoto.” Ryuji said. “But I was too dense to see it. I was too focused on what I ‘should’ want, instead of what I actually wanted. It’s part of the reason why I brought you here, y’know? When RenRen mentioned this place, it kinda clicked. I wanted to bring you here to make up for missing out. If I figured it out back then, we could’ve been dating since the summer of last year, not just the fall.”

Makoto shook her head. She reached up, touching his cheek and jaw as she gently turned his face towards hers. “Ryuji… That’s a difference of only two and a half months.”

Ryuji nodded firmly. “Yeah! A _whole_ two and a half months! I… I want all the time I can get with you!”

“Ryuji…” Makoto murmured, her heart skipping a beat at the sentiment.

Ryuji bit his lip; he looked like he was trying to say something difficult. “Thanks to you, my grades have been a lot better. But I’m still not the most booksmart guy out there y’know? Getting into a teaching program here in Tokyo is touch ‘n go. What if I have to go out of the city to get into a decent program? What if I end up in Kyoto, or Sapporo, or…”

Makoto shook her head. Her hand cupped his cheek; she kissed him.

“Then we’ll make it work, Ryuji.”

“...Just like that?”

Makoto arched an eyebrow; she put a hand on her hip. “Do you doubt me?” She asked, in her ‘Queen’ voice.

“!! Never!”

She smiled. “Good.”

They stood up to continue walking through the empty aquarium; Makoto held his arm close to her body now, leaning a little on him as they walked.

“...It’s a little unfair.” Ryuji said, after a moment.

“What is?” Makoto asked.

“Well… I poured my heart out, there. I told you how lame I was back then.” Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It isn’t lame, Ryuji. It’s sweet.” Makoto said, gently. She studied him for a moment, before sighing softly. “...What if I tell you something embarrassing, too?”

Ryuji looked at Makoto curiously. She gestured for him to lean down; she cupped her hand around his ear, whispering. Ryuji blinked. His eyes widened. His jaw dropped.

“ _Seriously_!?”

“ _Never_ repeat that.” Makoto said, seriously. Her face was beet red.

“Holy… Really? You hug the dolphin toy and pretend that it’s--”

“Shut up.” Makoto grumbled, immediately regretting her decision.

“But this is _huge_. I gotta tell RenRen, at least--”

“It’ll be the _last_ thing you ever do.” Makoto snapped at him.

Ryuji grinned. “...Well. In that case, then I’d better give you your Christmas present. Can’t let you kill me before _that_ at least.”

They paused in front of the sea otter exhibit as Ryuji reached into his pocket. Makoto gasped, smiling happily at the otters. The two of them were rafting - holding hands with their little paws while floating on the water’s surface, fast asleep.

“We really need to thank Ren for coming up with this…” Makoto whispered, not wanting to wake up the otters.

Ryuji nodded, finding the Christmas present. “Yeah. Him and Kaoru. It was RenRen’s idea, but Kaoru was the one who figured out how to make sure we’d be alone.”

Makoto turned back to Ryuji. “Oh? ...Hm. Wonder what he and Kaname are doing--...” Her eyes dropped to what Ryuji was holding in the palm of his hand. Her eyes widened; she covered her mouth with both hands, staring up at her boyfriend.

“Merry Christmas, Makoto.” He grinned.

“Ryuji… Really? What is this?” Makoto murmured.

He blinked. “Uh, isn’t it obvious? It’s a…”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Bunkyo, Tokyo 

“...ring! Right out of the ring!” Kaoru exclaimed. “Can you believe that finish?! I’ve never seen someone get knocked out of the actual ring before!” Kaoru exclaimed. He took an orthodox stance as he and Kaname walked away from Korakuen Hall. He threw a left hook, only to snap his own head back, as if he took a sudden, hard punch. “That counter came out of _nowhere!_ ”

Kaname grinned, sharing Kaoru’s enthusiasm. Unlike most girls, Korakuen Hall was exactly the sort of ring she had hoped to see on Christmas. “I know, right?! The power of the heavier weight classes is always pretty impressive. Not many people in Japan box heavier than middleweight, though. It's why most of the talent in Japan is concentrated in welterweight and below. It's actually unusual that we have so much welterweight talent floating around right now... Renpai, Miyazawa, and Shirai. I wonder what Coach Shinoda's going to do next year…”

Kaoru looked at Kaname as the two of them started walking to the train station. “What do you mean?”

Kaname explained. “Well… Fighters from the same gym can’t directly fight each other on the pro circuit. In the case of two pro fighters in the same weight class, the gym would have to decide which one gets the best matches, the first shot at contention. Shirai’s a welterweight, just like Renpai. So between those two, I wonder what Coach Shinoda’s going to do? If it were me, I’d probably make Shirai go up a class. His build looks right for it, and from what I know his weight management for welterweight fights is pretty tough. But he’s got seniority over Renpai.”

The violet-haired trainer grinned with anticipation. “It’s a good problem to have, though. If Team Shinoda can headline both Renpai _and_ Shirai, it’ll give pause even to the Ogino Boxing Club.”

“That’s Mamoru Yamanaka’s gym, right?” Kaoru asked.

Kaname nodded. “That’s right… The gym led by the former WBC lightweight champion. And soon-to-be WBC welterweight champion.” She looked up, starting to bolt for the train - it started to leave just as she and Kaoru started to run for it. “Ah! Damn.”

Kaoru shrugged, smiling. “What can you do? Come on. I’ll get us some drinks and we can wait for the next one.”

Kaname looked at Kaoru, raising an eyebrow. “Why are you so happy about missing a train?”

He rubbed his face a bit sheepishly, glancing at Kaname. “...Now that we’re out of the boxing match, I uh… kinda noticed…”

“You noticed…?” Kaname said. She had her suspicions. She tugged on her braid lightly.

“...Noticed how cute you’re dressed again.” Kaoru mumbled.

“!! You…! Public! We’re in public--” She looked over her shoulder. The platform was empty. She huffed, her face red as she looked anywhere but Kaoru’s direction. “... ...Th...thanks.”

Kaoru nodded, seemingly grateful for having avoided another punch this evening. He purchased two cans of coffee from a nearby vending machine, returning to sit beside Kaname on the bench while they waited for the next train.

Kaname sipped the coffee, her thoughts returning to boxing. Specifically, Shujin Boxing and her role next year. So much had changed. At the start of this year, she hadn’t put much thought into what she was going to do after Ren graduated - all she wanted to do at the time was stick close to him. Her plan at the start was to drop from the club the day that Ren retired from high school boxing. Then, when it became clear that the club’s continued existence was important to Ren, that changed. And then when the club became important to Kaname as well, that _really_ changed.

She glanced over at Kaoru, who was reading the side of the coffee can. The featherweight frowned at the nutritional label.

“Ah, damn. This one has sugar. Senpai always says don’t drink your calories…”

Kaname couldn’t help but smile. Not at what Kaoru was saying… At the fact that he was there, by her side. So much changed this year. Now she wanted to make the club strong for the sake of everyone there; not just for Ren and herself. She wanted to make sure Kaoru would succeed. Not only from the perspective of his trainer, but also as his girlfriend.

“...I’m going to start looking for another team manager.” Kaname said, suddenly.

Kaoru blinked, looking up. His eyes widened as he nearly dropped his coffee. “You’re quitting?! Is it because senpai’s retiring?! You can’t--”

“Please.” Kaname said, shaking her head. She poked Kaoru lightly in the chest. “Like I’d abandon you and the Idiot Twins. You wouldn’t last a day. I said I’m going to start looking for _another_ manager. It’s a lot of work, looking after all of you. Ann-nee was helping a lot this year, not to mention Shiho. They’re both going to be graduating too, remember? I can’t ask them to keep coming back to help out a high school club.”

“Ah. Right.” Kaoru sighed, relieved.

Kaname bit her lip before sighing softly. “...But there’s something I realized during your fight, Kaoru. I can’t be your chief second anymore.”

He really did drop his coffee this time. The can hit the ground, spilling the steaming liquid onto the tile.

“What?! Why?! What did I do wrong?!” Kaoru said. He stood up, his hands up in a placating gesture. “I’ll train harder! I’ll--”

Kaname stood up as well, facing him. She shook her head. “It has nothing to do with any of that, Kaoru.”

“...Then…?”

“I had to hand the towel over to Coach Shinoda during your fight, Kaoru. When it comes to you, I can’t be objective anymore.” Kaname said, softly. She moved closer to Kaoru, resting her head on his chest. She smiled faintly when he felt him hesitate to hold her - he was, for her benefit, making sure they were still alone on the platform before putting his arms around her. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I… I think so.” Kaoru replied.

Kaname nodded. She hugged him - a warm, firm embrace before she drew herself up, pushing back a little. “Don’t get me wrong, Iwai. I’m still going to oversee your training program, even if I’m not going to be your chief second in the corner. And I’m still going to kick your ass if you slack off. I’m a Takeda, and Shujin Boxing is _my_ club!”

“Yes Coach!” Kaoru said sharply, despite his grin.

Kaname smiled, sighing. “I wonder what Otou-san would say to this. The day where ‘Coach Kaname Takeda’ decides to prioritize being ‘Girlfriend Kana-chan’ instead.”

Kaoru paled. “...Uh, he still doesn’t know we’re dating, does he?”

“He probably has an idea.” Kaname shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry. You can take him.”

“How can you talk so casually about me and your dad fighting?!”

“Heh heh heh.” Kaname grinned. “Because I think it’d be a pretty good brawl to watch?”

They separated, though they kept holding hands as they waited for the train to arrive. Kaoru frowned thoughtfully.

“Going back to what we were talking about earlier, do you really think senpai would go up or down a class?” Kaoru asked.

“It’s not ideal.” Kaname said. “But like I said, it’s hard for them to be in the same gym while being in the same weight class if they have serious pro aspirations.”

Kaoru nodded. “It would be nice if Shirai-san went up a class. Both senpai and I are almost in the middle of our divisions, so weight management isn’t hard for either of us in our current classes… ...”

Kaoru froze mid-sentence. His jaw slowly dropped. His eyes widened.

“Iwai? What’s wrong?” Kaname looked at Kaoru with concern. She waved a hand in front of his face. “Are you okay--Holy!”

Kaoru grabbed Kaname by the shoulders, almost yelling in her face. “IS SENPAI GOING PRO!? DID HE TELL YOU SOMETHING?! WHEN’S HIS FIRST FIGHT?! CAN YOU GET US TICKETS?! I WANT HIS FIRST AUTOGRAPH AS A PRO--Oof!”

Kaoru wheezed, his hands over his solar plexus where Kaname had socked him. She sighed.

“I wonder if Ann-nee has it this bad.” Kaname muttered.

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Hiroo, Tokyo 

“Sit _down_ , Ren!” Ann pointed at the sofa.

“Can’t I just sit here?” Ren asked with a languid smile, sitting at one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. He casually snapped photos of his girlfriend as she loaded the dishwasher. They had just finished their at-home dessert buffet; Ann insisted that Ren should rest more, rather than help with the dishes. So Ren took a seat at the island, instead occupying himself with photography. In his defense, Ann was already terribly cute in her reindeer onesie - adding the apron had made it _criminally_ adorable.

Ann pouted at Ren, crossing her arms. Ren perked up at this, taking even more pictures.

“Seriously?” Ann grumbled. “I could just take this off, you know.”

Ren smirked. “The apron or the onesie? Please say just the onesie. You haven’t done the naked apron for me before.”

Ann rolled her eyes; she stuck her tongue out at Ren for the final picture. She chuckled in spite of herself, waving at the living room floor. “If you’re really feeling that much better, can you get the dry mop and hardwood floor cleaner from the broom closet? Just give the middle of the living room floor a quick clean, in the spot I cleared.”

“...Really? It already looks pretty clean.”

“Trust me.” Ann smiled in anticipation. This was the next part of her plan to have the best ‘home Christmas date’ ever. “I’ll be right back.”

Ann disappeared into her bedroom, collecting two pairs of the key items required for the next part of the evening. She returned to the living room just as Ren put the dry mop and cleaner away in the broom closet.

“Done. Be careful though, Songbird. The floor’s pretty slippery, there.” Ren said.

Ann grinned. “Oh, really~?”

“...What do you have behind your back?” Ren asked, curiously.

Ann produced two pairs of socks - one of them a spare pair of Ren’s, hidden away in her dresser. The other, hers.

“...A bit small for stockings, aren’t they?” Ren asked, curious.

“Not for hanging, Wildcard. Your plan for after the dessert buffet was _skating_ , right?” Ann asked, her eyes twinkling.

Ren snorted, grinning. He took the socks, tugging them on. “So, this is the famous Takamaki Iceless Ice Rink, then?”

“Exactly!” Ann chirped. She grabbed her phone, bringing up the app that controlled the apartment’s sound system. The Michael Buble version of _‘All I Want for Christmas’_ started playing. She giggled as Ren bowed low with one hand behind his back, offering the other hand like a courtier. She took his hand; she gasped as he gently pulled her forward; she slid across the floor on her feet, ending up in his arms.

The two of them weren’t quite skating, of course. But the polished hardwood was good enough to glide smoothly as they danced together in the dimly lit apartment.

“I’m impressed…” Ann murmured, as Ren held her in the closed position of ballroom dancing, expertly leading her through the steps of a waltz. “I never would have guessed you could dance.”

“...Just something I picked up.” Ren said, shrugging.

Ann raised an eyebrow. She cocked her head to the side, looking at him with her ‘I know there’s more to this story’ look.

Ren sighed. “...Are you really going to make me say it?”

Ann grinned. “Yep!”

Ren shook his head, chuckling as he led Ann through a slow spin before stealing a kiss. “Turns out after years of reading shoujo and josei manga, it made _Kana-chan_ fantasize about her ideal wedding. So she _begged_ me to help her practice. It was pretty sad.”

“Really? That’s what you’re going to go with?” Ann asked, impishly. “Even though we all know the box of shame belongs to you? We even did the whole spit-take thing, if I recall correctly. And do you really expect me to believe that _Kana-chan_ fantasizes about her ideal wedding?”

Ren frowned. “If you keep pushing, I’m never gonna dance again.”

“I don’t believe that.” Ann said, shrugging. “We got you out of prison.”

“...What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s only guilty feet that have no rhythm.” Ann said, triumphantly.

Ren tilted his head. He stared at Ann incredulously, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to find the appropriate words.

Ann blinked. “...You don’t get it? You said you were never gonna dance again. The next line of the song is--”

“No. No, I know.” Ren said, shaking his head. “I just can’t believe you made that joke. That’s just so… _bad_.”

Ann giggled. “You must be rubbing off on me.”

Ren chuckled before smiling suggestively at Ann, holding her just a little closer. “Not _yet_. I’d like to, though. You remember what I had planned after the skating rink, right? The Yokohama Bay Hotel?”

Ann sighed. “Ren…”

“What?”

Ann glanced behind Ren. She stopped dancing, looking up at him. She leaned against him, tilting her chin up as her eyes drifted closed. Ren smiled in victory. He leaned in… and then yelped as Ann gave him a little push. Barely enough to make him sway under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances. He fell back onto the waiting sofa, his weary body unable to compensate for the sudden shift.

Ann stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. “You were able to waltz, _slowly_ , but it’s still taking a lot of you to even do that, Wildcard.”

“Ah… caught me again.” Ren said, chuckling. “Bed, then?”

“Bed.” Ann said, firmly. “For _sleeping_.”

Ren glanced at the bottles arranged in the corner of the living room floor, still there from the game that he had purposely lost earlier by dropping the five hair ties. He pulled the last one from his pocket, deciding to take a different tactic. He raised an eyebrow, grinning. “Is the game still on? If I make the shot, I can demand _any_ penalty?”

Ann shook her head, a little rueful smile on her face. “If I say yes, will you rest properly if you miss?”

“That’s the deal.” Ren said, seriously.

“Fine. But because I know _exactly_ what kind of penalty you’re going to ask for, you have to make the shot from the sofa.”

It was twice the distance from the part of the floor Ann had marked out earlier. To her surprise, Ren just nodded. With a laugh, Ann sat down beside Ren.

“You’ll never make it, Wildcard. When you were sleeping, I tried for half an hour to make the shot from the line I marked. The angle’s completely wrong.” Ann said, grinning. “I wanted to make an authentic carnival game, which means your chances of winning are close to zero.”

Ren nodded yet again, calmly. Ann felt a chill. He was up to something.

“So, the rules are I have to shoot the hair tie like a rubber band, from the sofa? That’s it?”

Ann glared at Ren suspiciously. She eyeballed the distance to the group of bottles again. “...Yes.”

“Good.”

In a single smooth motion, Ren aimed and fired - at the ceiling.

Ann stared in shock as the hair tie struck the ceiling directly above the bottles, killing its forward motion. It dropped straight down, landing neatly over the narrow neck of a soy sauce bottle. She turned to Ren, eyes wide. “You… You cheated!”

Ren grinned. “I asked you to confirm the rules.”

“I… You… …” Ann’s voice and glare faltered as Ren’s grey eyes took on a particular quicksilver glint that she knew _all_ too well. “...What do you want, then?”

“Hm…” Ren rubbed his chin. “...I think I just want to kiss you again. Five times.”

“...Oh. That’s it?” Ann said. “That’s fine, then.”

“Good.” Ren said. “Though, after the whole confirming the rules thing, I thought you wouldn’t have fallen for that.”

“...Fallen for wha--...” Ann’s face felt hot as Ren’s grin became smug. And suggestive. She realized what she had ‘fallen for’.

He was going to kiss her.

He hadn’t specified _where_.

The last thing Ann noticed before her senses were fully occupied by him was the snow starting to drift down outside.

 _‘Shame…’_ She thought, receiving kiss number one on her lips. _‘Would have been nice to be out skating in this…’_

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Yokohama, Tokyo 

Shiho skated on her own at the Yokohama Christmas Market’s rink, wearing a pair of rental skates. Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air, creating a stereotypically Christmas-y scene to sit in stark contrast to how she felt. At the time, it seemed like a good way to get away from Kurosawa. She disappeared into the crowd on the ice, effectively hiding in plain sight. After all, most people didn’t try to get away from their ex-trial-basis-boyfriends by running onto a contained sheet of ice. The volleyball captain fought back bitter tears. He really was her ex, now. She wanted to run home, crawl into bed, and call Ann.

But that was the problem with the ice rink. If she got off the ice, she would have to get her boots, take off her skates, put her boots back on, and then stand in line to return her skates. That would be at least ten or fifteen minutes of being stuck in one place while Ryoichi was undoubtedly looking for her.

So she kept skating around aimlessly. People left her alone, thankfully. Either they were too preoccupied with their own romantic and festive nights, or they could sense the miasma around the third-year volleyball ace.

She skated until the crowd thinned out and she was the only one on the ice. There was still some TV crew near the rink, probably doing some fluff piece for a late-night news channel or variety show. Something to offer the warmth of the season to those stuck inside and lonely.

Shiho envied those people, safe and warm in their homes. Right now, she could barely feel the need to cry anymore because her face, her heart, her _everything_ was so cold. She knew it wasn’t actual hypothermia; the temperature was only just above freezing. But even so, she felt numb enough that by the time she was the only one on the ice and Ryoichi finally found her, she didn’t feel the need to skate away from him anymore.

“...Hey, Suzui-san.” Ryoichi said, gliding beside her.

She didn’t look at him. She just kept up her slow, steady pace.

“Can we talk?” He asked, softly.

Shiho bit her lip. She nodded tightly, but spoke before he could. “Just tell me one thing, Ryoichi. Was that guy telling the truth? Did you start dating me because of everything that happened with Kamoshida?”

Ryoichi took a breath. “...Yes.”

Shiho nodded again, slowly. “...Then, I think our ‘trial-basis’ dating is over. ...Thanks. It’s been fun. Up until now, anyway.”

He shook his head. “Suzui-san… You can dump me if you want, but not until I’ve told you everything.”

She put on a smile that was as polite as it was brittle. “I don’t think I need to hear it, Kurosawa.”

“Please.” He said, insistently. Shiho could hear the desperation in his voice. But, she didn’t care.

“No.” Shiho turned away, skating for the rink’s exit. She was angry with him for making her fall for him, for putting her in the position to feel so betrayed. But she was also disgusted with herself. For _letting_ herself get wrapped up in him. For being so happy every time he confessed to her and asked her out; for hoping that this might lead to something.

For hoping that something good would come out of this kind of trust.

“Suzui-san, _wait!_ ” He grabbed her wrist desperately.

She tried to wrench her hand away. “Let go! Just let me go! Let me--”

She froze. Ryoichi was gone.

Curly hair. Broad chin. Sharp, cruel eyes. Eyes that used to look kindly. An arrogant sneer. A rough voice that told her he was just ‘putting her in her place’, and that she should just ‘let it happen’. Strong hands that restrained her wrists--

“NO!” She shoved him away. She hyperventilated, poised like a wild animal to fight with every ounce of her being, to make sure this _piece of shit_ never touched her again, never threatened Ann again. But he was already gone.

Only Ryoichi was there. He sat on the ice, having been shoved off his feet. He looked up at Shiho, looking at her not with surprise or anger, but profound concern.

Shiho took a long, slow breath.

_‘He’s gone. He’s gone forever. He’s gone. He’s gone forever.’_

She repeated the mantra to herself, trying to get her ragged emotions back in check. That hadn’t happened in a while. The last time was outside the hospital with Haru last year, when that paparazzo grabbed her arm. 

She looked down at Ryoichi; for some reason, her eyes were drawn to his right hand. His knuckles were scraped and bruised. That was strange. He had fallen back onto his palms, not onto his fists. Shiho blinked. On closer inspection, his face was bruised, too. He was probably going to get a black eye, in fact.

_‘Did I black out and punch him too?’_

He caught her look, glancing at his hand.

“I’m not like Amamiya…” Ryoichi said, shaking his head. “I can’t throw a punch without hurting myself. Not great at dodging either… In fact, I think that was my first ever fist fight.”

He smiled sheepishly.

“But you should see the other guys. I bet their knuckles _really_ hurt now.”

Shiho helped him up, eyeing him up and down. He really did look like he’d been in a fight.

“...So can we talk?” He asked, gently.

“...Fine.” Shiho said. She started skating again, this time resuming the loop around the rink. Ryoichi skated beside her at a respectful distance. He took a deep breath, seeming to come to a decision.

“...Do you know much about what happened to the Jazz Club?”

Shiho nodded. “Another casualty of Kamoshida’s ego.” The former teacher had exerted his influence to shut the club down and steal its funding.

“Yeah.” Ryoichi said. “That’s part of it. All of us lost our recommendation letters, too. And I lost my scholarship.”

“You mean for university? You already had one in second year?” Shiho asked. It was unusual but not unheard of for universities to start trying to recruit students who were only in their second year of high school.

“No. For Shujin.” He said, shaking his head. “Before Kamoshida, I was going to Shujin on a scholarship for music. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, Suzui-san. My father is a harsh, practical man. He wasn’t one for sentiment and eventually it cost him his marriage. He drove my mother into the arms of another man. And even before that happened, he wasn’t keen on me pursuing music. My mother fought with him about it constantly, actually. Among other things. It… didn’t always stay verbal.”

“...So after she was out of the picture…” Shiho put two and two together.

Ryoichi smiled bitterly, nodding. “After she was gone, there wasn’t a buffer anymore.” He took off his duffle coat. As they skated, he rolled up the sleeve of his sweater. “It was in the last year of middle school that his disapproval became physical.”

Shiho cursed quietly. There was a series of puckered burn scars, each of them about the diameter of a cigarette. They ran down the underside of his forearm, from his elbow almost to the crease of his wrist. It occurred to her then that she had never seen Ryoichi wear anything other than long-sleeved shirts or sweaters.

“So when the opportunity for the scholarship came up, I jumped all over it.” Ryoichi said. “It was incredible. They were going to cover my tuition as well as room and board for all three years. It got me away from home for the first year of high school.”

“But then Kamoshida happened.” Shiho said.

“I can still remember the conversation I had with the vice-principal… Didn’t even bother to take me into the office, he just told me in the hallway. He told me the school was withdrawing my scholarship and letter of recommendation so they could give it to someone on the volleyball team. I could stay at Shujin, but I’d have to pay for everything. If I couldn’t afford it, I would have to go back to my father. I knew right then that I’d rather die than go back.”

There was something in his tone that brought Shiho gliding to a halt on the ice. Something that reminded her of Ren and the choice he made in the attic; the choice she made on the rooftop. “You mean…”

Ryoichi bit his lip, considering Shiho carefully with his bespectacled eyes. “...I was going to leave school, take a walk to the Rainbow Bridge, and… Well. I wasn’t going to walk back. But you stopped me.”

Shiho shook her head. “I never spoke to you before third year, Ryoichi. How the hell did I stop you?”

“The day I decided I was going to kill myself was April 15th, 2016.” Ryoichi replied, quietly and firmly.

“...That day… That was…” Shiho trailed off, shaking her head slowly.

“That was the day you decided _not_ to jump.” Ryoichi finished for her, quietly. “The shock was enough to make me not go through with my own plans. At least, temporarily. It took me a couple weeks to work up the nerve to try again. But then the truth came out about everything that happened, and I heard that you were going to keep going to Shujin despite everything…”

Ryoichi smiled at the recollection.

“I saw you, you know? The day where you were having lunch with Takamaki, and Amamiya and Sakamoto were rough-housing with each other. I think Amamiya suplexed him into the bushes? You almost lost everything. Some people were still talking about you like you were some irreparably damaged victim, or worse, trying to imply that you and the other girls brought it on yourselves. But you were at school anyway, smiling and laughing. You didn’t back down. You weren’t going to let Kamoshida or anyone else take a single minute more from you.”

“You… you were watching me from that time?” Shiho asked, the disbelief clear on her face. Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smirk a little. “That’s a little flattering. And unsettling.”

Ryoichi chuckled. “I wasn’t watching the _whole_ time last year. It was more just a kick in the ass, Suzui-san. After seeing you take back your life, it inspired me to take back my own. I got a couple part-time jobs. I managed to contact some relatives on my mothers’ side who were willing to help me out. I managed to hang on, barely. And then at the start of third year, you gave me another shot in the arm.”

“What do you mean?”

“You not only became the captain of the volleyball team, but you showed everyone that you can be competitive while having fun. You were crying when your season ended. Didn’t you know your team was crying even harder? Not because you lost, but because they wouldn’t be able to play with _you_ anymore. You took volleyball back, Suzui-san. What’s more, you took it back and you gave it to a new generation of players as something positive. You showed me that a survivor can do more than just continue to survive.”

Ryoichi smiled, shrugging helplessly. “So I borrowed your strength again and resurrected the jazz club. What else could I do after seeing that? And somewhere along the line, I fell for you. I honestly didn’t plan on approaching you. It seemed wrong to force my feelings on you while you were still figuring things out. Worse yet, I didn’t want you to feel like you were somehow responsible for me. But then the Cultural Festival came up. I started asking you out because honestly, if I was going to be around Amamiya and Takamaki-san, then I knew I was going to see more of you.”

Shiho watched in fascination as the normally smooth musician actually looked embarrassed.

“...I knew I was going to end up blurting it out stupidly anyway, so I figured, why not just be completely idiotic and charge right at it?”

Shiho shook her head, thinking of how smoothly he did his daily confessions to her. “...You looked pretty cool for a guy acting like an idiot.”

“Heh. Thanks.” Ryoichi chuckled, before smiling softly. “So… that’s everything, Suzui-san. It’s like what I told Takamaki-san when she asked me what my intentions were the night we all hung out at Penguin Sniper. I’m not dating you because I think you’re an easy target. I’m not in this because I have a rescuer complex and want to save you. You saved _me_. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, Suzui-san. So if this is too much and you want to break it off, I’ll be sad, but I’ll still be grateful for having had this time with you.”

Shiho was quiet for a long time. She started skating again, motioning at Ryoichi to join her; she angled her blades so that they were side by side.

“Your idea of strength is weird, Ryoichi.” Shiho said, softly. “I have my bad days too. They’re becoming less frequent, but sometimes it’s all I can do to get out of bed in the morning.”

“But you still do it.”

“Because people depend on me. Ann and her friends; Takemi-sensei. I don’t want to let any of them down.” Shiho sighed, chuckling a little. “At least, that’s part of it. Having people depend on me isn’t the hard part. Living through my friends makes things easier. But learning to rely completely on someone else is scary. It’s why I tried to take you out on the worst date ever. I wanted you to break up with me because I’m too chicken to do it myself.”

Ryoichi smiled. “I noticed the moment you started talking about the orchid. I’ve seen that movie too. _‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’,_ right?”

Shiho laughed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Ryoichi’s smile softened. “...Because I wasn’t going to break up with you over something like that, Suzui-san. I can’t. You’re my light.”

“Ryoichi…” Shiho murmured, coasting to a stop. She turned to him, taking hold of his hand. She tilted her chin up, starting to close her eyes.

Ryoichi instinctively leaned in, starting to close his own.

He recoiled a little at the flick delivered between his eyes.

“Ouch!”

Shiho snorted. “Laaaaame. How can you say a line like that with a straight face?”

He chuckled, rubbing his forehead. “It’s a gift. So… we’re at an impasse, then? You want me to break us up, but I refuse to do it?”

Shiho looked up at him; she studied his unruly black hair, the eyes framed by his glasses. His breathing seemed strangely controlled; his shoulders looked tense. He was clearly doing his best to hold in his anxiety. She could tell he really didn’t want this to end, but even now he was trying not to force his feelings on her.

She sighed.

“No impasse, Ryoichi. The trial basis dating is over.”

He looked like he had been shot. He stared blankly as Shiho started to skate away.

She paused, turning and holding out her hand with a brilliant grin.

“Isn’t it time we drop the ‘trial basis’ part?”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Yongen-jaya 

“Thanks for tuning in and spending Christmas Eve with me, Keiko-chan!” The too-perky, attractive variety show hostess held her microphone in mittened hands, fluttering her eyelashes. “As you can see, the Yokohama Christmas Market is winding down as all the lovey-dovey couples are headed home! Though, at least _one_ young couple is hanging on for some last minute romance!”

In the background of the broadcast, a black-haired girl in jeans, a navy duffle coat, and red scarf held her hand out to a tall young man. He seemed to go from despondent to ecstatic in a second, taking her hand as they skated slowly towards the rink’s exit.

“Oh my! It looks like this Prince Charming was successful tonight! Let’s see if we can get a quick comment from them~”

Futaba changed the channel, rolling her eyes. “Bor~ing!”

“Oh, come on, ‘Taba-chan. It was cute!” Tomoko protested. “Besides, don’t you think that girl looked like Suzui-senpai?”

“Meh. Let’s play some Smash instead--”

“Futaba, it’s ten o’clock!” Sojiro sighed, appearing in the orange-haired hacker’s doorway. “Shouldn’t you three get ready for bed already? I know you don’t have class tomorrow, but you need to sleep!”

“Aw, Tou-chan! But Kana-chan just got here!” Futaba protested. Tomoko, Kaname, and Futaba were gathered for a post-Christmas Eve sleepover.

“Don’t. ‘Tou-Chan’ me, Futaba. Go to bed.” Sojiro crossed his arms, trying his best to look stern.

“Ah. Sorry, Boss.” Tomoko smiled, not a hint of malice or mockery on her face. “We must be keeping you from calling Tachibana-san.”

Sojiro scoffed. “I don’t call women. Women call _me_.”

“Oh, really?” Futaba asked, innocently. “You mean, super-cool super-badass ex-super-soldier Rui Tachibana comes running at your beck and call?”

Kaname caught on immediately. “I’m not sure, Futaba. I think next time we see Tachibana-san, we’ll have to ask her to make sure--”

Sojiro startled. “Er… That’s fine! Completely unnecessaryI… Ah… Just another half hour, okay?”

“Sure thing, Boss!” Tomoko chirped and waved as Sojiro hastily closed the door and walked away.

Tomoko, Futaba, and Kaname bumped fists. The three girls shared a laugh, though they did start to settle in for the night.

“Anyways!” Tomoko said cheerfully as she got into her futon, “How did the date with Minimiya go? How did he like your gift?”

Kaname grumbled. “He loved it.”

“...Then why are you grumbling?” Futaba asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because he acted so damned surprised that I was able to knit a scarf!” Kaname snapped. “It’s like he’s shocked whenever I do something remotely feminine!”

“Can you blame him?” Futaba asked. “How many times did you punch him tonight?”

“W-w-why would you assume I punched him at all?!” Kaname said defensively.

Both Futaba and Tomoko just stared at her with knowing smirks.

“...Three times.” Kaname mumbled. “Once when he called me cute in public, the second time when he started man-crushing on Renpai, and the third time when he said ‘I love it, I can’t believe you _actually_ know how to knit’.”

“Oh, come on, Kana-chan.” Tomoko laughed. “You know he didn’t mean it like that. You’ll have to make it up to him--...”

Tomoko trailed off. She stared intently at Kaname.

“...Oh. Oh hoh. You did. _Nice_.”

“Oh, shut it.” Kaname grumbled.

“Fine, fine. What did he give you? Other than his lips--Fuwah!” Tomoko’s sentence ended in a pillow to the face.

“If you _must_ know,” Kaname muttered, reaching into her pyjama pocket, “he got me this.”

She produced a beautiful stainless steel coach’s whistle. The character for ‘Takeda’ had been engraved beautifully on one side, and along the flat top was Shujin Boxing’s motto: 一期一会.

“Oh. Shiny.” Futaba murmured, peering over Kaname’s shoulder from her bed.

Tomoko smiled and shook her head. “Nice. It’s hard to believe that the Kaoru you’re dating is the same guy I went to middle school with, Kana-chan. He used to only care about DOTA2.”

Futaba frowned. “Hm. From DOTA2 to boxing. I think it’s debatable whether he’s made an upward versus lateral move.”

“Hah.” Tomoko laughed. She paused, looking at Kaname as the violet-haired trainer turned the whistle over in her hands, smiling softly at it. “...Wow, Kana-chan.”

“What?” Kaname startled. She slipped the whistle over her neck, tucking it into her pyjama top.

“You’re a _girl_.”

“Shut up. _You’re_ a girl.”

“I know, that’s established. But you just got this soft, doe-like look. If you smiled like that all the time, you’d have lonely boys beating down your door--oof!”

Futaba rolled her eyes as her two friends started pillow-fighting in earnest. She clicked the remote on her television, flipping channels again.

“--er, we’ve experienced some technical difficulties with our feed from the Yokohama Christmas Market! So, moving on in our ‘Christmas Eve in Tokyo’ special, let’s see how the rich and famous are spending the evening! Here’s renowned model and tonight’s special guest reporter, Mika Narumi, at the Cerulean Tower Hotel in Shibuya!”

Mika appeared on screen, a perfectly manicured smile on her pretty face.

“Hihi, everyone! This is Mika, trying out reporting for tonight! I’m here at the annual Okumura Foods Christmas Charity Gala! Tonight, the proceeds are going to the Heal Your Heart Foundation! HYH’s goal is to help those affected by the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks that up until recently haunted Japan.” She affected a wide-eyed look of awe, looking over the crowd of well-dressed and well-to-do individuals. “There’s some _very_ famous faces in the crowd tonight, and they’re all looking fabulous! Let’s see if I can get a word with some of them!... Oh? Is that Haru Okumura? And she’s with someone! Let’s go see who!”

>>>

December 24, 2017 (Late Evening) - Shibuya, Tokyo 

At the beginning of the evening, Yusuke wasn’t really sure how this was all going to pan out. After receiving Rui’s text, he really only planned as far as his confession and unveiling ‘ _Noir’_. He simply didn’t have it in him to consider what would happen if the painting was received in the way he hoped it would, and thinking about what would happen if it wasn’t received well by Haru nearly sent him home in terror. So he focused on refining his monologue (which turned into the word ‘cows’) and stopping his hand from shaking when he unveiled the painting.

And then he made that croaking sound.

But she _loved_ _him._

She _loved_ him.

He stole another glance at her - that wasn’t hard. After all, she was right in front of him, leading him through the steps of a basic waltz. She giggled softly, deftly dodging his misplaced foot before gently nudging him into the proper place. She looked up at him; the warmth in her brown eyes and the rosy flush that colored her cheeks nearly stole the strength from his knees.

That look was for _him_.

“You’re doing great, Yusuke-kun.” Haru said, squeezing his right arm reassuringly, maintaining the closed position of the waltz. “With just a little more practice, I think you’ll be able to lead quite nicely!”

“Ah… Thank you.” Yusuke mumbled. He glanced over Haru’s shoulder. Upon arrival, people had been looking at him with quite a bit of curiosity. By now, the young artist was used to answering questions and speaking to people from his exhibitions. But at this moment, he felt like one of his paintings - on display for anyone to admire or criticize. He took his right hand off of Haru’s shoulder blade to readjust the collar of the tuxedo Rui had provided.

“Does the tuxedo fit?” Haru asked.

“Remarkably well, as if it had been fitted by a tailor.” Yusuke said, shaking his head a little in awe. “Though, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised where Tachibana-san is concerned.”

Haru smiled. She paused to readjust his bow tie a little. She glanced around Yusuke, watching as Rui firmly escorted the reporter and cameraman providing media coverage of the event away from the couple. A single look from the formidable woman around the ballroom reminded onlookers that curiosity not only killed the cat, but also anyone who dared to disturb her ward.

“She really is incredible…” Haru said. She finished adjusting Yusuke’s tie. “There.”

“Thank you, Haru. If I may, could I try leading, now?”

Haru nodded happily with an encouraging smile. She offered her right hand.

Yusuke’s unease faded at the sight of how happy Haru looked; he relaxed as he felt the prying eyes turn to targets that weren’t protected by an ex- _Tokushusakusengun_ soldier. He took her right hand with his left, just like she had shown him. He placed his right on her back--

Haru tensed up under his hand.

“...Haru?” Yusuke blinked. “Did I do something incorrectly?”

“N-no…” Haru murmured. “Technically, your right hand is supposed to be on my shoulder blade.”

Yusuke glanced at his position. His left was on the small of her back; he had inadvertently drawn her a little closer than was prescribed by the standard waltz. “Oh…! Ah, here. Allow me to--ouch!”

He stumbled forward at a sudden sharp snap against the back of his neck; his sharp eyes caught sight of a rubber band falling to the floor, delivered with pinpoint precision between his hair and the collar of his jacket.

Haru gasped; they were so close, now. Yusuke’s hand rested on her back; her left hand had gone from his shoulder to his bicep. She looked around Yusuke at first, shooting an indignant glare at Rui. Her friend and confidant appeared not to notice, engrossed in a conveniently timed phone call.

“Seriously, that woman…” Haru muttered.

“Ah, so… In the waltz, we should be a little further apart, then?” Yusuke asked, quietly. He made no move to let go, though. Instead, he decided to be bold, after a fashion - his left hand relaxed, his palm settling into the curve of Haru’s lower back.

“...Well…” Haru blushed, not quite meeting his eyes. She lightly squeezed the artist’s bicep as she took a miniscule step forward. “There _are_ variations, Yusuke-kun…”

Yusuke looked away, ostensibly to admire the painting on the opposite wall. He fought back the heat he felt rising to his own pale complexion. “Then… Can you show me those variations as well?”

Their eyes met; they looked at each other, mutually red-faced and embarrassed. They both chuckled quietly at themselves. Haru settled against Yusuke; Yusuke cradled her against himself.

Haru spoke softly. “I’d be happy to, Yusuke-kun. Tonight, and from now on…”

>>>

December 25, 2017 (Midnight) - Asakusa, Tokyo 

“There’s some _very_ famous faces in the crowd tonight, and they’re all looking fabulous! Let’s see if I can get a word with some of them!... Oh? Is that Haru Okumura? And she’s with someone! Let’s go see who!... H-hey! Who do you think you are? You can’t just-- Do you know who I am!?--”

Makoto watched with some mild amusement as Mika and her cameraman were politely (but firmly) led away from Haru and her escort by the iron hand of Rui Tachibana. She only got a glimpse of her friend and fellow university student before the camera was turned away, but it certainly did look like she wasn’t alone.

 _‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was Yusuke in a tuxedo. And_ **_dancing_ ** _.’_

She switched off her television as the feed cut to commercial. On any other night, Makoto might not have believed that Haru and Yusuke were not only finally together, but dancing in the middle of a glitzy ballroom. But, she was in the mood to believe in miracles. She looked down at her left hand, which now sported a simple silver band on her ring finger. With a happy little sigh, she grabbed B-chan, her oversized stuffed dolphin plushy, giving it a hard squeeze as she flopped over onto her side, rolling back and forth on the couch a little in a display of general giddiness that she wouldn’t have even shown Ryuji.

She couldn’t sleep. And she couldn’t stop smiling, despite the fact that it was undignified and silly and really just a simple silver band, one of those ‘pair rings’ that she used to dismiss as frivolous when she watched other girls show them off at Shujin.

But this ring was _hers_ . And so was _he_. He was wearing the matching ring on his own hand, over in his apartment in Setagaya.

_‘Uh, isn’t it obvious? It’s a ring… Two of them.’_

_‘I know, Ryuji. But…’_

_‘...Oh! Oh, ah… It’s not_ **_that_ ** _kinda ring. I mean, not that I don’t want to some day. But Untouchable doesn’t pay that much, and… ….well. I was thinking you could wear one, and I’d wear the other. I mean… that way, even if I have to leave town for university, then we’d have this, right? Heh. It’s stupid, right?’_

_‘...It’s not stupid. It’s not…’_

It really wasn’t.

But this was. Not being able to sleep because she was _too damned happy_ was pretty dumb.

Impulsively, Makoto grabbed her phone. She wanted to hear his voice one more time, even though he dropped her off only an hour ago. She stopped just short of tapping the call button. It was just past midnight; she didn’t want to wake him. He had school tomorrow and exams were looming. She couldn’t be a distraction--

Her phone rang; she fumbled it as she answered.

“Er… Hello?”

“Hey, Makoto? I didn’t wake you, did I?”

Makoto smiled, shaking her head. Ryuji. “No… You didn’t.”

“Ah… Good.”

Silence for a few moments. She just listened quietly to the sound of him breathing. Right now, even that did wonderful, silly things to her heart.

“...Heh. I miss you already.” Ryuji chuckled. “I just needed to hear your voice a little, I think. I’ll let you sleep now, Makoto. Merry--”

“W-wait, Ryuji.”

“...Hm?”

“...Just a little longer.” Makoto put him on speaker, putting the phone down on the sofa. She hugged B-chan tightly. “Let’s talk just a little longer.”

“...Heh. Okay. I’d love to. ...You sound a bit different. Am I on speaker?”

“No.” Makoto lied.

“...Are you sure?” Ryuji’s grin was almost audible. “Are you sure you didn’t put me on speaker so you could pretend that the dolphin plushy you’re hugging is me--”

“--I’m going to hang up.”

“...Sorry. Anyway, what were you doing?”

“Just watching TV.” Makoto said, closing her eyes. “You?”

“Same thing. I was watchin’ this Christmas Eve special on TV Tokyo. It’s pretty goofy, though. I think I saw Haru for like half a second before Tachibana-san got rid of the camera. And before that, their feed got cut off at that Yokohama Christmas Market, too. Y’know, that was the place that RenRen was going to take Ann?”

“Mm.” Makoto mumbled, only half-listening.

“Yeah. He had the whole thing set up so that they’d be alone on the ice. Dunno if he’s in any shape to go out, though? I wonder if they made it… Before the feed cut off, there _were_ two people out on the rink…”

>>>

December 25, 2017 (Midnight) - Yokohama 

“Just managed to dodge _that_ bullet.” Shiho said, sighing. They were seated on the benches beside the skating rink, watching as the cameraman and reporter from TV Tokyo headed back to their van. The cameraman glanced over his shoulder, glaring balefully at Shiho. He shook the severed end of an electrical cable at her.

Ryoichi laughed. “Did you really have to skate over their power cable?”

“Their fault for not going wireless. And their fault for coming over and trying to shove a camera in our faces.” Shiho shrugged. “Besides, after all the crap I give the Champ, Blondie, Mako-chan, and RyuRyu, do you really think I’d let them get this kind of ammo on me? The TIC caught in the middle of some tropey shoujo fantasy?”

“Sorry, TIC?” Ryoichi looked back at Shiho, momentarily distracted by the zamboni that was cleaning and smoothing out the ice now that the rink was officially closed.

“Troll-in-Chief.” Shiho said, nodding seriously.

“Heh. Right.” Ryoichi grinned. “What did you mean by tropes, anyway?”

“Ugh. Well, Gremlin or Champ would be able to describe it better. But in this case, I mean romance cliches.” Shiho said.

Ryoichi perked up. “Oh! Like misunderstanding my intentions due to a lack of open communication?”

“That’s one. And then there’s the heartfelt dialogue where we finally get everything out in the open, leading to a significant step forward in our relationship.” Shiho said. “And not to mention the ridiculously sparkly-looking hero.”

“I’m not sparkly.” Ryoichi protested.

“You _literally_ have sparkles on you.” Shiho pointed at his shoulders and hair. Suddenly, Shiho gasped loudly, pointing at Ryoichi with theatric accusation. “Were you in a strip club before you got to the rink? Is my new boyfriend already letting hussies covered in body glitter clamber all over him!?”

“More like I was clambering up a glitter-decorated lamp post to try to get a bird’s eye view over the market.” Ryoichi said, laughing. “I was trying to spot you in a sea of couples.”

“...Well.” Shiho reached over, squeezing his hand with a little smile. “...I’m glad you got all sparkly then, Ryo-chan.”

“Me too, Shiho.” Ryoichi smiled at her.

Shiho blinked; she blushed, shaking her head and muttering. “...That’s not fair. Using my given name plus that ridiculous smile of yours…”

“It’s the only smile I have.” Ryoichi said. “And it belongs to you, you know…”

Shiho smacked his arm.

“Seriously! Can’t you turn it off?!” Shiho coughed, her face still burning. “Anyway, let’s get these skates off before we fall into another cliche. Thankfully, the Champ’s guy on the inside forgot to turn on the music and lights…”

“Guy on the inside? Music and lights?” Ryoichi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“If you didn’t know, the Champ’s a closet romantic. He had this big elaborate plan to take Blondie down here to the Christmas Market. It was dumb luck that ‘Santa’ gave us their tickets earlier.” Shiho gestured at the venue. “Then he was going to take her to some fancy dessert buffet in some fancy restaurant, and then as if all of that wasn’t romantic enough, he was going to cap it off with a private skate on this rink to some cheesy love song.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad, with the right girl…” Ryoichi murmured, glancing sidelong at Shiho.

Shiho caught Ryoichi’s look and soft smile. It really _didn’t_ seem so bad anymore. “M-maybe. It’s a moot point anyway, they’re turning the lights off. It’s time for us to go--”

The lights in the market turned off, aside from the dim glow of a few streetlamps. And two soft spotlights, trained on center ice.

“Huh. That’s odd.” Ryoichi said.

“...Oh. Oh, no.” Shiho said. She reached down to untie her skates. “We need to go. We need to go right now before--”

The spotlights moved slowly over, illuminating the pair sitting on the benches. The nearby sound system came to life with the first few notes of a slow song; gentle piano accompanied by a gentle orchestral swell. Shiho didn’t recognize the song - it was in English - but it sounded decidedly Destinyland-like.

“...I… have no words.” Shiho mumbled, shaking her head. “This really is turning into the worst, cheesiest date ever. What song is this, anyway?”

“Oh? You don’t know it? It was a pretty big movie a few years back, even here…” Ryoichi said. He paused, waiting a few beats to catch the melody. He started singing.

 _...So close was waiting_ _  
_ _Waiting here with you_ _  
_ _And now forever I know_ _  
_ _All that I want is_   
_To hold you_ _  
_ So close…

Shiho stared blankly at the musician. While his instrument of choice was the trumpet, he sang just as smoothly as he did during the Cultural Festival, because _of course he did_. And he looked just as good singing as he did playing his trumpet, because the universe was mocking her. He looked over at Shiho, smiling.

“Right? It’s from ‘ _Enchanted’_. I mean, it’s nothing terribly complex, but it’s not a bad choice if you want something romantic, grand, and a little bittersweet--”

“--Let’s go.” Shiho interrupted, standing up. She held her hand out.

“Your skates are still on.” Ryoichi nodded at her feet.

“I know. Now take my hand and get on the damned ice already!” Shiho snapped, her face red. “Because apparently, the entire universe isn’t convinced that I’m in love with you yet and I’m afraid that if we _don’t_ go and do this cliche to satisfy whatever karmic imbalance is causing this, we’re going to end up married before the fucking sun comes up!”

Ryoichi laughed and took Shiho’s hand, leading her back to the freshly cleaned ice. All the while, the volleyball captain blushed furiously, staring down at her skates to avoid looking at the trumpet player’s smile, made even more dazzling by the spotlights trained on them. It really was completely unfair.

As they skated hand in hand, Shiho still resisted looking at him, even when he paused at center ice and spoke softly.

“You know, Shiho… It’s not really a romantic skate to a slow song if the heroine of the story doesn’t look at the love interest.” He said, squeezing her hand gently.

She nodded. She turned into a stop, placing her free hand on his chest. “I… I know. I’m just afraid of what’s going to happen if I look at you, Ryoichi.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“...I’m afraid that if I look at you, you’re going to kiss me. And after learning what that feels like, I won’t be able to get by without it anymore.”

“Ah… that.” He gently touched her cheek. “I know that feeling.”

“Then what should we do…?” Shiho asked. She moved just a little closer; she grasped the lapel of his coat.

His fingers slid down to catch her chin, carefully tipping her face up to his.

In Shiho’s eyes, he was perfectly illuminated by the soft spotlight. She realized then what it was about his smile that made him so dazzling to her; what made her so befuddled. It was charming and beautiful, certainly. But it was also so warm, so accepting… 

When he smiled at her, she felt like she was coming home. She could put down the day’s burdens, throw on something comfortable, and just be whoever or whatever she needed to be.

“How about we just be afraid together, then?” He murmured.

They kissed as the song swelled to its conclusion. Her senses became razor focused on him. The rich, soft scent of his sandalwood cologne. The warmth from his body and lips that stole the strength from her knees, turning her hold on his coat into a necessity. The faint hint of cinnamon sugar she could still taste on him from the oddly out of place churros they had earlier. Sweet and spicy.

They parted reluctantly from their embrace, skating off the ice hand-in-hand.

“You know, Shiho…” Ryoichi said, thoughtfully. “If that’s the _worst_ date ever, I can’t wait to see what you manage to come up with for the _best_.”

Shiho flashed a little grin at him. “Not sure if you’re ready to fly that high and fast, Ryo-chan.”

“Heh. Try me.” He returned the smile. After they returned their skates, they headed for the train station to return to Tokyo. “Looks like we’ll manage to make the last train… ...Hm.”

“Something wrong?” Shiho asked, glancing up at Ryoichi. His lips were pursed in a thoughtful frown.

“Ah, nothing serious. I was just thinking that a train ride on a crowded subway is a pretty anti-climatic way to finish a romantic skate on an empty rink. It’s hard to believe that a romance otaku like Amamiya would finish things on a note like this.” Ryoichi said.

“Oh, well.” Shiho laughed. “If they had actually made it down to Yokohama, they were going to fulfil one more cliche. Apparently he booked a hotel room.”

“Really? Which cliche— oh.” Ryuji shook his head with a little chuckle.

Shiho grinned. “Yep. Tacked-on sex scene.”

>>>

December 25, 2017 (Midnight) - Hiroo, Tokyo 

“Ah… _God_ , Ann! Right there…harder!” Ren gasped, writhing slightly.

“Mm… are you sure? This isn’t hurting you?” Ann bit her lip, looking a little concerned.

“It’s the good kind of pain. Just go for it.” Ren mumbled, his face buried into one of the many fluffy pillows on Ann’s bed. He grimaced, groaning softly into the fabric as his girlfriend’s fingers worked deeply… into the paraspinal muscles of his lower back.

Ann shook her head. “I thought you said you were going to be careful, Wildcard.”

“Ah… You know me. Besides. Totally worth it.” Ren mumbled. He turned his head to cast a little smirk at Ann.

She rolled her eyes as the smirk fell apart into another wince, continuing to work on his seized-up back - the consequence from the last of the five kisses Ren had earned in Ann’s makeshift carnival game. The ‘kiss’ itself wasn’t the issue, really. After all, it wasn’t terribly strenuous for Ren to lie between her legs, his lips and tongue skillfully kissing, sucking, and licking Ann into an orgasm so overwhelming that the only thing she could think of in the afterglow was whether or not that really counted as just one kiss. On one hand, most kisses didn’t involve going down on someone for that long. On the other hand, his lips hadn’t really ever stopped touching her, so _technically--_

Ren groaned under Ann’s touch again.

“Ah. Sorry.” Ann said, tabling the internal debate again as she shifted slightly, working on another area of his back. In any event, he had gotten up while Ann was regaining her senses. He grasped her thighs; she licked her lips in anticipation as he pulled her towards himself so he could take her - and then he froze, the muscles of his lower back telling him ‘not tonight, Champ’.

And that led to the current situation. Ann, wearing one of his long-sleeved shirts she had stashed in her bedroom. Ren, lying prone with a pair of pyjama pants on. Ann pressed and worked on the knotted muscle of his back, hopefully so they’d loosen up enough so he could sleep in a position that didn’t resemble that of a slumbering vampire.

She stroked his skin after one final push. “Is that better?”

“I think so…? Let me see if I can…”

Ann moved off of him; he moved gingerly to his back, settling into the mattress with a relieved sigh.

“Yeah… I think that did it.” Ren shook his head. “Sorry, Songbird.”

Ann shook her head. She (carefully) settled against his side, using his arm for a pillow.

“It’s fine.” She smiled wryly. “Though, it’s enough to make a girl self-conscious. Ridiculously intense championship match aside, you just threw your back out by pulling me across the bed.”

“Don’t be silly. You haven’t gained an ounce.” Ren replied instantaneously.

Ann giggled. “Veteran boyfriend move, Wildcard. Flattery will get you _everywhere_. Except on nights where you’ve been beaten into moving like an old man, of course.”

“Shame.” Ren said, sighing regretfully.

Ann gently stroked his chest with the palm of her hand. She watched him for a moment, studying the long lashes she loved so much; the way his eyes looked in the dim light filtering in through the curtains. She smiled slightly. She wondered if anyone else noticed his subtle tells; the way his quicksilver eyes were far more expressive than he knew or intended.

“So, what’s on your mind?” She kissed his jaw.

“You.” Ren replied, kissing back.

Ann smirked; she gently moved his hand off of her butt, placing it back on her hip. At least whatever was on her boyfriend’s mind wasn’t anything serious “Nice try, perv. What’s on your mind, _actually_?”

Ren smiled. “...A couple things, but nothing serious. For one thing, I was just thinking about how we’re basically on the home stretch, now.” 

“Yeah. National entrance exams are in less than a month…” Ann grimaced. “And then we both have to write Waseda’s exam, too.”

“Mm…” Ren murmured, his eyes flitting to the ceiling.

Ann frowned; she propped herself up on her elbow, looking at Ren closely. “...You’re not thinking of going pro and giving up on university, are you?”

To Ann’s relief, he quickly shook his head. “No. No, Songbird. I still want to go to university with you. But I want to go pro _and_ go to Waseda.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t be overdoing it?” Ann asked. “From everything I’ve seen, the pros at Coach Shinoda’s gym work really hard - if they’re not training, they’re working at least one other job to make ends meet.”

“That’s true. At the JBC level, you can’t really live off your winnings until you’re the national champion. And even then, it’s not like you’re on easy street.” Ren said, thinking of Shinji Takeda. The former JBC Featherweight Champion lived comfortably, but it was due to his success as a trainer, not due to any remaining money from his time as a boxer. “But I’ve been saving up from my part time job at Crossroads, and Haru helped me invest some of it. I think I’ll have tuition covered, at least. Especially if I keep working part time.”

Ann frowned thoughtfully. She didn’t bother asking Ren if his parents would help - she knew they would, just as she knew he’d also refuse to burden them. Instead, she asked the more important question.

“So you decided, then? You want to go pro for sure?”

Ren nodded. He stretched his left hand to the ceiling, curling his fingers into a fist. “I do. Fighting Haya-kun tonight sealed it, Ann. Right at the end of the fight, I had this moment of clarity… A few seconds where I stopped thinking and just _boxed_ . It’s like I reached the limits of what I was able to do, and then somehow found there was _more_. I want to keep testing myself. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of my own strength. And to do that, I need to find opponents as strong or stronger than Haya-kun.”

Ann reached up; she took his hand, twining her fingers with his. She kissed the back of his hand. “...I thought you’d say that. I think I was even afraid you’d say it. I won’t lie to you, Wildcard. There were moments tonight where I was honestly afraid of what was going to happen to you. I… I might have stopped Kana-chan from throwing in the towel, but it was everything I could do to not do it myself.”

Ren bit his lip. “Ann… Ann, I won’t do this if going pro means you--”

“Ssh.” She kissed him; she turned to stroke his face, resting a hand on his bandaged cheek. “The guy I love is somehow equal parts dorky and sexy. He lives for his family and friends… and he’s finally learned how to live for himself, too. So, if this is something you feel you need to do, then you should do it.”

“Songbird…” Ren murmured. He placed a hand over hers as she continued.

“The guy I love also looks his best when he’s putting his entire focus into whatever he’s doing. Whether it’s stealing hearts or punching faces. You’ve made your decision. So commit to it.” She flashed a brilliant grin at him. “Besides, you’ve got me beside you, remember? How can you possibly lose?”

He stared at her for a long moment, a slight smile on his lips. She felt her face grow a little warm at the attention - it was stupid, amazing, beautiful, how he still looked at her like that. With unabashed adoration and love; like she was the only woman in the world. It probably affected her more than his playful flirtation or smooth charm; it was a side of him privy only to her.

Ann frowned as Ren shifted, turning towards her and pushing her onto her back. “Ren? What are you doing?”

“There’s something I want to give you.”

Ann looked up at him, now hovering over her. Her eyes widened as she took in his broad shoulders, defined muscle, and wild, unruly hair. The prospect was definitely intriguing - after all, that ‘kiss’ earlier had really gotten her going - but it probably wasn’t a good idea for him to overexert himself. “W-wait! We _just_ got your back settled! You can’t--”

Ren chuckled. “ _Now_ who’s the pervert? Get your mind out of the gutter, Songbird.”

He carefully sat on the side of the bed and fished something out of the pocket of the Shujin Boxing jacket hanging off the back of Ann’s chair. He handed it to her.

Ann blinked, staring at the championship medal Ren had earned just a few hours earlier. Unlike the trophy that was going to be displayed at Shujin Academy, the medal was Ren’s to keep. And apparently, to give.

“...! Ren, I can’t accept this! Besides, you already gave me a Christmas present--”

Ren closed her fingers over the medal, shaking his head. “Ann… As far as I’m concerned, the only reason I beat Haya-kun tonight was because I outnumbered him. Without your voice, I wouldn’t have gotten up. Without you, I wouldn’t have found that last bit of strength I needed to finish it. I want you to have this.”

Ann looked down at the medal, and then back up at Ren. He smiled at her again; that soft smile, the one that still made her heart flutter. “I… okay.”

She placed it on her nightstand; she settled her back against Ren’s chest as they laid back down. “But just for now, Ren. For safekeeping. You worked hard for this thing.”

Ren shrugged; he nuzzled the nape of her neck, making her smile at the ticklish, warm sensation. “It doesn’t really matter.”

“...What do you mean?” Ann asked, curiously.

“Well…” He hugged her gently. “Eventually, we’re going to call the same place home, aren’t we? Then who the medal belongs to becomes a bit of a moot point…”

Ann blinked; she shook her head, giggling softly. “You know, I recall a conversation we had last year about how a traditional Japanese boy like yourself might consider something like that a proposal.”

“Good thing you're not a traditional Japanese girl, then. As far as you’re concerned, I might be saying _anything_.” Ren replied. Clearly, he did recall that rooftop conversation.

Ann felt him smile against her skin as he continued to gently kiss and nuzzle. After a moment, he paused; the teasing tone faded from his deep voice. “...Ann. We’re young. Maybe too young to be making promises that tempt fate. But… I really do want that to happen someday soon. To come home to you every day.”

Ann turned in his arms, stroking his cheek. This sweet side of him really was what captivated her the most.

She kissed him, relishing the soft touch of his lips, the warmth of his body. She moaned quietly into his mouth as he deepened the kiss; his powerful arms pulled her tightly against himself. Ann raised her arms, feeling him start to push the hem of her shirt off. She wanted this too; she wanted a physical connection to match her feelings. She wanted to forget everything but him--

“Ah. Damn.” Ren hissed, grimacing. He slowly settled onto his back again. “Sorry, Songbird. Looks like we’ll have to take a raincheck after all.”

Ann sat up. She finished taking off her shirt, dropping it off the side of the bed. Before he could say anything, she carefully settled over him, straddling his waist and placing her palms on his chest. After being together with him for over a year and a half, embarrassment didn’t really enter the equation anymore - the heat she felt on her neck was more to do with arousal than anything else. She watched as he fell silent, his eyes reflexively wandering over her smooth skin, her bare breasts, toned body; she smiled in a little smug satisfaction as she felt his reaction to her through the thin fabric of his pants.

As they parted, Ren carefully combed his fingers through her hair. “Ann…?”

She leaned forward, kissing him again. She moved past his lips, whispering softly between light, butterfly kisses to his ear. She felt him shiver at the sensation and sound.

“...After what you did earlier, I was already at my limit, Wildcard. And when you’re sweet like this…”

“Ah… Well. I won’t complain, then.” He started to move.

Ann put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back. She shook her head, now nuzzling and nipping at his neck. “You have to be good. And that means… Don’t move.”

He chuckled softly; he ran his hands up and down her spine. Ann mewled softly, arching her back. “So you’re saying all I need to do is lie here? Twist my arm, why don’t you…?”

Ann ignored the snarky comment, and for good reason. She knew she had his number. At the start of their relationship, Ren had been the more experienced one; he had been the one to lead the way, the one who typically took the lead when it came to their encounters. But a year and a half of loving each other had more than levelled the playing field.

She tugged off his pants. She took hold of the base of his cock, squeezing and pulling to a maddeningly slow rhythm. He groaned softly at the touch, his eyes drifting closed.

Ann smiled slightly. She pressed up against his side, her hold on him shifting to add an equally slow massage of his testicles. “What was that…?”

“Ah… nothing. Just…” Ren mumbled.

“Just _what_ …?” Ann murmured.

“...Just--..ah!” He gasped as the soft pad of Ann’s index finger ran light, barely-there circles over the tip of his shaft. “Ann…!”

“Hm?” She intoned with false-innocence, even as she continued to slowly edge him.

“Ah… God, _damn_.” Ren hissed.

Ann gave him a devilish little smile. “Weren’t you pretty eager just to lie there…?”

“Fuck…” He growled. “You’re killing me…”

Ann smirked. She kissed at his neck, working her way back to his ear. She kissed and sucked at his earlobe, her breath and voice hot, taking full advantage of that particular weak point. “Hm. Just wait, Wildcard…”

With her other hand, she slipped her fingers between her slick folds, pleasuring herself indulgently as she continued to slowly pull, massage, and squeeze Ren’s cock, increasingly wet with precum. Ann was still up against his side; she was too close for him to see what she was doing. But she knew he could feel the movement of her hand and hips; she knew that he knew what she was doing. His hoarse growls and the way he writhed in pleasure and frustration gave her no small measure of smug satisfaction - she was making him fall apart.

“Ren… Ah. I want you… I need you.” She moaned quietly as she continued to trail kisses and nibbles up and down his neck and ear. It wasn’t really teasing anymore; she rubbed her swollen clit, her hips pumping slowly against her hand, against him.

“Holy…” Ren gasped, feeling every one of her movements. “Ann…!”

Ann could tell he was close. So she stopped, finding some amusement at the look of annoyance and disappointment that crossed Ren’s handsome features. That irritation disappeared the moment that Ann straddled him, soft sighs and gasps escaping her lips as she lowered herself onto his cock. It took a substantial amount of self-restraint to not start riding him hard and fast. After all, he was injured.

So she started to roll and grind her hips in long, slow strokes. They mutually gasped and called out for each other; her hands explored and caressed his hard chest and broad shoulders; he ran his hands up and down her flanks, drawing out flirtatious little moans as he started to fondle her breasts. She leaned forward over him; she gasped as he suckled and nipped at her erect nipples, his hands moving back to her hips, holding her against himself as she continued to grind and thrust.

Eventually, even the slow, measured pace was too much for them. She thrust against him one last time, harder, deeper - they came together; Ann nearly fell forward onto him, her hair a mess, her skin hot and flushed. She kissed at his jaw, giggling softly at the blank expression on his face as he stared up at the ceiling, panting as he tried to recover his senses.

After a quick shower, the two of them snuggled up against each other, back in bed.

“So… Pretty safe to say we made up for last year, then?” Ann asked, smiling impishly.

“And then some.” Ren chuckled. He kissed the crown of her head. “It’ll be hard to top this one next year.”

“That’s fine.” Ann said, nuzzling his chest. “If we don’t manage, we’ll try again the year after. And then the year after that… and so on. ...I love you, Ren.”

“I love you too, Ann. Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hummed and hawed over this for a bit, trying to decide whether or not I really wanted to write smut into a Christmas 'episode'. Started to get all high-minded and thinking, 'what does this sex scene really SHOW. How does it develop the story?'
> 
> And then I remembered this is fanfiction. So they bang. And then I created a transition where Shiho once again becomes my voice in the story and calls a spade a spade. Tacked on sex scene for the sake of smut. So there :P
> 
> Maxell Aqua Park Christmas/Winter display - It's a thing. One day need to actually see that. Holy.
> 
> Shujin and scholarships - I always imagined Shujin's intended to be a private high school, so tuition is not free.
> 
> Ryoichi's conversation in the hallway in Shujin - I had this in mind a while back. Inspired by what happens in game between two nameless NPCs during the Kamoshida arc. The student loses his letter of recommendation and the teacher just freely tells him this in the hallway; I thought it was pretty awful.
> 
> Pair rings - Not quite the same weight as a Western style engagement ring, obviously. But still has feels.


	21. Interlude - Yamanaka v. Porter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Southern Cross: Southpaw vs Southpaw!
> 
> Mamoru Yamanaka takes on Danny Porter for the WBC Welterweight Championship at the Nippon Budokan on New Year's Eve.
> 
> Undercard: East Japan Rookie King Finals (Hiroyuki Shirai v. Ryo Ashiro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... almost forgot about this fight ^^; I poured so much energy into the Winter Cup that I forgot there was one more big fight to go before 2017 is over for Ren and the gang. Shorter chapter this time as it focuses on four fighters who were/are peripheral characters. I promise you, this is setting things up for much later.
> 
> EDIT: Made a HUGE error in the previous chapters. The Christmas chapters were done on a bit more of a 'spur of the moment' type thing. The omnibus thing was done because I realized I had so many couples to write about and wanted to tie them in together. My notes for the main storyline were actually done separately. The big error was having Kaname/Kaoru watch Shirai fight on Christmas Eve (spur of the moment decision) - and then me forgetting that I had Shirai slated to fight as the undercard for Yamanaka/Porter a week later!
> 
> Suffice to say, it's more important for Ren's development as a boxer for him to fight as the undercard so that Ren can see Ashiro box also. So I went back and retconned chapters 19 and 20 - Kaname and Kaoru instead watch a nameless middleweight title fight for the JBC championship.
> 
> Nippon Budokan: Storied arena in Chiyoda City, Tokyo
> 
> Matsuda: Ann's agent
> 
> Rookie King Tournament: Series of fights that take place over the year to determine the best 'Rookie' pro boxer. The winner of the All Japan Rookie King Final (takes place after East Japan Final) automatically gets ranked at 10th in contention for the JBC (Japanese Boxing Commission) title for their weight.
> 
> Ashura: Demigod of war, or someone who's fallen into a situation where they have to fight an endless war in a relentless/inhumane manner.
> 
> Rabbit punch: Punch to the back of the head/neck. Very dangerous and very illegal.
> 
> Second-Impact Syndrome: When you get concussed again after getting concussed a short time ago. Can lead to serious/deadly complications.
> 
> Cheese Champion: You're like Swiss cheese. Full of holes. (A champion who many can imagine defeating)

December 31, 2017 

“Good evening and Happy New Year, everyone! I’m Jyoji Morikawa for TV Tokyo. After six months of waiting, the fated evening is finally here! This is undoubtedly the fight of the year - _Southern Cross: Yamanaka versus Porter_ , for the WBC Welterweight Championship! Joining me is a special guest color commentator: legendary former WBA Flyweight Champion, Katsuo Sakata! Welcome, Champ. We’re happy to have you!”

At the ringside announcer’s table, Morikawa turned to Sakata, a wiry man with greying black hair who wore a friendly smile to go along with his tuxedo.

“Thank you, Morikawa-san. I’m honored to be here. This is going to be one for the ages - most of us in the business have wanted to see how Mamoru Yamanaka would look at a higher weight class. While power has never been a deficiency for Yamanaka-kun, I’d imagine that going up a few kilograms will only add to the effectiveness of the ‘Left Hand of God’. The real question is whether or not he’ll be able to overcome Danny Porter’s reach advantage.”

“Ah, yes. Porter-senshu is quite tall for his weight class, and…”

“Come on, Songbird! We’re going to be late!” Ren shouted excitedly, practically dragging Ann past the window display of the electronics store in Jinbōchō. The televisions were showing where they were heading: _Nippon Budokan_ , the storied arena where the showdown was going to take place.

“R-Ren! I can’t run in these heels!” Ann stammered. She clung to Ren’s hand desperately. Her blonde hair, worn down for the evening, trailed behind her as she struggled to keep up. She yelped, tripping over a crack in the sidewalk.

Ren caught her effortlessly in his arms. Ann sighed in relief, leaning against her boyfriend.

“Honestly… We’re half an hour _early_ , Wildcard. And the venue’s just another block away!” Ann frowned, adjusting her trench coat. She looked up at her boyfriend. His coat hung open, revealing the well-cut tuxedo that her agent had found for Ren. She sighed helplessly, clicking her tongue. “And look at you, now. Your bow tie is crooked, and your shirt’s wrinkled…”

Ren smiled sheepishly as Ann adjusted it for him. “...Sorry. Just a bit excited.”

“Oh, _really_.” Ann smiled wryly, poking Ren’s nose. “I couldn’t tell.”

The pair walked the rest of the way to the arena, Ann holding onto his arm. Although going to a boxing match wasn’t how she imagined their first New Year’s Eve date would go, it was still pretty fun. Sitting ringside at the WBC championship fight was a glitzier affair than she realized it would be. When she first asked Matsuda-san to help her get tickets, she didn’t imagine they’d have to dress up like this. It was definitely a bonus. Ren looked great in his tux, and Ann was more than happy with the classy-but-sexy cocktail dress she picked out for the event.

 _‘According to Matsuda-san, I’m probably not even going to be the only model there…’_ Ann thought. The fight might actually be an opportunity for a little more exposure and networking for herself. But, that wasn’t the best part of this. They came to a stop outside the arena, situated on the northern tip of Kitanomaru Park in Chiyoda City. Ren let out a slow breath, staring up at the arena.

The best part was the look on Ren’s face. It was a mix of awe, anticipation, and barely contained excitement. His amusing/mildly concerning crush on Mamoru Yamanaka aside, her boyfriend looked terribly cute right now. He turned to look at her.

“Ann…”

“Hm--Oh!”

Ren slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her full on the lips. Bystanders eyed them askance, muttered, or smiled at the beautiful couple, depending on how closely they adhered to stereotypical Japanese sensibilities. 

“R...Ren!” Ann gasped, her face feeling hot. While she certainly wasn’t shy with her affection for Ren anymore, this was about as public as public could get.

“Thanks for this, Songbird.”

Ann giggled, stroking Ren’s cheek. “You’re welcome. Come on… Let’s go in.”

They headed for the entrance cordoned off for ringside ticket holders. Ann’s eyes widened at the sight of a cordoned-off red carpet and security guards.

“Oh, wow. Seriously?” Ann said, shaking her head. “I didn’t think we’d get the chance to play at being celebrities…”

“Well, they _are_ ringside seats--”

“Oh! Isn’t that Ann Takamaki? Takamaki-san, you look _gorgeous_! Who are you wearing?”

Ren smirked. “Looks like I’m the only one playing at being a celebrity, Songbird. Let’s go. Your public awaits.”

Ann chuckled; she handed her trenchcoat to Ren, smiling in satisfaction at how his jaw dropped at the sight of the form-fitting red dress she had picked out. It left her shoulders bare, and showed off her long legs beautifully. She posed for the camera, smiling graciously. “Thank you! And this dress is John Galliano.”

Ren marveled, shaking his head as they walked down the red carpet. “Without missing a single beat…”

“You get used to it.” Ann replied, winking. “I’m sure you’ll find out pretty soon.”

“Please. Even when I go pro, I’m going to be a nobody for a long time--”

“Amamiya-kun! Excuse me!” Ren looked up - just before the entrance to the venue, a reporter stood by with a small recording device. Mystified, Ren paused in front of him.

“Yes?”

“Congratulations on your win at the Winter Cup! That makes you one of only two ‘Triple Crown’ winners this year on the high school circuit! Any comments on tonight’s fight?”

Ren blinked. “...Excuse me?”

“Who do you think’s going to win? What can we expect from Yamanaka-san? You’ve sparred against him before, so--”

“Ah, ah, ah! No poaching my _exclusive_ interview, Otani-kun.”

Both Ann and Ren jumped slightly as Mari Minoru seemed to materialize out of thin air, placing an arm over both Ren and Ann’s shoulders. The red-headed reporter smiled pleasantly at Otani. Like Ann, she was dressed to the nines in a slinky silver dress, but toted her camera and a press pass.

“Ex...exclusive?! Damnit, Minoru, how--”

“None of your business ♥~ Shall we?” She beamed at both Ann and Ren. She walked them inside the venue, leaving her colleague and rival sputtering in irritation.

“Minoru-san, you’re sitting ringside as well?” Ren asked, curiously.

“Ah, yes. I was lucky enough to know someone who was able to get me a ticket.” The three compared their passes. Mari smiled. For a split second, Ann could have sworn that the cagey reporter _blushed_ at the mention of this ‘someone’. “Looks like we’re right beside each other, too. If you both don’t mind the little interruption to your date, I actually would love to hear what you think of tonight’s fight, Amamiya-kun. It does feature two possible future opponents for you, after all.”

Ann didn’t miss the implication of Mari’s question as they found their seats. “How did you know that Ren’s going pro? We haven’t told anyone yet.”

Mari sat down on the other side of Ren, shrugging.

“It was a guess, Takamaki-san. A good number of the people _watching_ the Winter Cup Finals probably felt like they wanted to take up boxing after a match like that. I can’t even imagine how your boyfriend and Miyazawa both feel.” She looked at Ren. “So? What are your thoughts? What would you do against each fighter if you were in the ring?”

Ren looked thoughtfully at the ring. “Porter’s a textbook southpaw. Strong left cross and left overhand, and his fundamentals are extremely sound. It’s to the point where some people criticize his fighting style as being overly predictable. But I think that’s mostly sour grapes… his biggest critics are his past opponents. Unlike a lot of southpaws who are reliant on their cross, he has an incredible jab and he uses it well. He frustrates people by outrunning them and winning on points, which takes stamina and precise punching. If I were up against him, I’d target the body. In particular his right side, when he extends for his jab. It would be hard to catch the timing, especially with his reach, but it might force his guard to open up.”

“And what about your idol?” Mari asked, the corner of her lip quirking in amused anticipation.

To Ann’s surprise, Ren didn’t seem starstruck. Instead, he stared at the ring quietly, as if imagining the fight in his mind’s eye. After a long pause, he spoke.

“Against Yamanaka-san, the generally accepted theory if you’re an orthodox fighter is to circle to the left and keep outside position on him to try to avoid his left cross. Everyone talks about how his power has gotten even better after moving up to welter, but the thing that’s most impressive is how he’s still _just_ as fast and accurate with it. If you leave even an inch, you’re knocked out before you know what’s happened. Porter’s a southpaw, so he wouldn’t have to maintain outside position - but his strategy should still try to keep Yamanaka-san’s left quiet.”

Mari nodded. “The ‘Left Hand of God’ nickname isn’t just for show. So how would you beat him?”

“I’m not sure.” Ren frowned. “If it were me, I’d be throwing crosses and chopping rights as much as possible to keep his left cross suppressed. I’d keep circling to my left, and wait for him to try to stop me with a leading right hook. The second he did it, I’d aim a left smash at his liver. If he dropped his guard, I’d make him eat a chopping right. If he kept his guard up, I’d keep hammering his body.”

“You wouldn’t try the Philly Shell at all to absorb his left cross?”

Ren shook his head. “Mayweather’s version of the Philly Shell is hard to pull off. Your skill level and pressure need to be better than or equal to your opponent. As it was, I barely did it against Haya-kun. Eventually he figured out how to get my feet to stop moving and turned it into a passive defense that he was able to break. With all due respect to Haya-kun, Yamanaka-san’s ability to control the ring and pressure an opponent with feints and fighting spirit is unmatched. If you try the Shell against him and fall into a passive pattern, it’s as good as handing him the match.”

Ann raised an eyebrow. “You know, Wildcard, for a guy who says he isn’t sure, it sounds like you have a pretty good idea.”

Ren rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “...‘The mentality he goes into the ring with is making his opponent adapt to him’. Something that Hiroyuki Shirai told me once about him. Yamanaka-san had streaks of seven and eight straight title defenses. And the only reason it wasn’t fifteen straight was because of the hiatus he took after his seventh defense. He’s used to people coming up with ‘anti-Yamanaka’ plans. It’s to the point where people become so focused on him as their opponent that they lose sight of their own boxing…”

Ren blinked, as if surprised at his own words. He chuckled. “...Which is actually similar to what Yamanaka-san himself told me last year when I ran into him in Hawaii.”

Mari laughed. “You know, it might be hard for you when you go pro. Your two mentors are going to become your rivals, aren’t they?”

Ren laughed. “It’s a good problem to have, isn’t it? Not a lot of aspiring fighters can say they’ve had the guidance of two boxers like that. Shirai-san’s actually fighting tonight as well, on the undercard.”

“That’s right. It’s the East Japan Rookie King Finals for the welterweight division.” Mari said. “Shirai’s done pretty well for himself so far. 7-0, four by knockout. He’s going up against Ryo Ashiro, out of Isshiki Boxing in Shinjuku.”

“Hm. I haven’t heard you talk about him before, Ren.” Ann said. “In fact, I haven’t heard Coach Shinoda or Kana-chan mention him, either…”

“He’s a relative unknown.” Mari said, glancing at her phone. “Twenty-two years old. He was never on the inter-high circuit, and he didn’t start mainstream boxing until this year. His record is also 7-0, all by knockout.”

“ _All_ by knockout?” Ren asked. Mari nodded.

Ann frowned. “...Wait, Minoru-san. The way you mentioned ‘mainstream’ boxing… What was he doing before this?”

“Observant, Takamaki-san. There’s rumors that Ashiro was involved in underground bare-knuckle fighting. Given how rough he is in the ring, it would make sense.” Mari looked up as the ring announcer started introducing the undercard fight. “Ah. Here he is, now.”

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! For tonight’s undercard, we have the six-round East Japan Rookie King Welterweight Finals! In the red corner, fighting for Isshiki Boxing and hailing from Shinjuku City, Ryo ‘Ashura’ Ashiro!”

Ann looked over at the runway leading to the blue corner. A Japanese man with a stocky build emerged to the thudding beat of Kawasaki Drift’s _‘Bad Hop’._ He wore a hooded black robe and moved with singular purpose, not even bothering to raise his hands to acknowledge the applause of the crowd. He stepped into the ring and doffed the robe, revealing narrow grey eyes and slicked back black hair with a prominent widow’s peak. Ann suppressed an involuntary shiver at the look in his eyes. The man’s body language suggested he was relaxed - almost bored - but his eyes belied a certain type of eagerness. It was different from the way Ren looked before a fight. Ren looked eager to test himself. Ann suppressed an involuntary chill as she tried to figure out why Ashiro’s look was so familiar.

“And in the blue corner, fighting for Shinoda Boxing and hailing from Setagaya City, Hiroyuki ‘Hero’ Shirai!”

The crowd exploded in cheers as the music burst on over the speakers.

Ann laughed, her mood lightening immediately as she recognized the song. “Are you serious?”

Ren grinned. “Yep. That’s _‘RISE’_ by MADKID, the opening to ‘ _The Rising of the Shield Hero_ ’. Shirai-san picks a different anime opening for each of his fights. His ring entrances are part of the reason why he’s a fan favorite.”

“Just for the music?--Oh!”

There was a blur of motion from the blue corner’s entrance. Hiroyuki Shirai charged down the ramp with a million-yen grin. He leapt onto the apron of the ring, grasping the top rope with both gloved hands. He pulled back on the rope and used the elasticity to fling himself over the top and into the ring like a kayfabe wrestler. The crowd roared as he stood up on the second ropes in his corner, borrowing Usain Bolt’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ pose.

Ann’s shoulders shook with delighted laughter as she looked Shirai over. He had his trademark pompadour, now sporting silver streaks rather than the red she had seen him with before. “He’s really a character, isn’t he… …”

She trailed off, her eyes catching the motion of Shirai’s opponent in the red corner.

Ashiro watched Shirai quietly. His expression was otherwise unchanged, but Ann recognized the look in his eyes, now. They reminded her of Kamoshida, of Kaneshiro, of the various villains they faced down as Phantom Thieves.

Ashiro had eyes that were eager to inflict pain.

>>>

“And another brilliant counter by Shirai!” Morikawa shouted from TV Tokyo’s play-by-play table. “The Hero fearlessly slips another powerful hook by Ashiro in this one-sided match!”

Shirai danced back, his shoulders jogging lightly as he stood in his orthodox stance. They were now into the fourth round of the match, and Ren’s future gym mate was well-ahead of his opponent on points. As Shirai demonstrated during his sparring match against Ren, the up and coming welterweight was a brilliant counter-puncher. Ashiro’s powerful blows found nothing but air.

“Come on, what the hell!” A spectator yelled from the upper stands as Ashiro missed another left hook. Like the ones before it, Shirai returned with a quick left jab, and then an almost casual slip to the outside for a sharp right cross.

“Ah, well. I was expecting a little more out of a guy nicknamed ‘Ashura’...” Mari sighed.

“He doesn’t seem to have an answer for Shirai-san’s speed.” Ann said. “Though, it’s amazing that he’s still standing up. He’s taken so many punches.”

“He has a good chin.” Ren said, watching closely. “...And Shirai-san doesn’t seem to be hitting really deep, even if his counters are sharp. There has to be a reason why he isn’t stepping in as much.”

Two more sharp snaps from the ring; droplets of sweat sprayed back off Ashiro’s face.

“Minoru-san… How does Ashiro usually win? What’s his KO pattern?” Ren asked.

“He’s a tight-to-middle range brawler.” Mari replied. “That hook he keeps throwing out is usually what does the trick. If his opponent’s still standing after he lands it, he usually throws a right hook from the opposite side to finish the job.”

“It looks like Shirai-san’s scouted it well…” Ren said, frowning. “Which is why this is a little odd.”

“What do you mean?” Ann asked.

“Shirai-san knocked me out in our sparring match.” Ren said, rubbing his jaw at the memory. “He’s a fearless counter-puncher. He doesn’t just hang back and go for points. He steps _in_ to counter. That’s why his KO percentage is remarkably high for an outboxer. It’s like he’s unwilling to close the distance with Ashiro.”

“There's a reason for that, Amamiya-kun.” Mari said, watching as Shirai slipped back from another punch. “And I think we’re about to see it.”

In the ring, Shirai had his back to the ropes. Ashiro threw a left hook at the trapped outboxer. Shirai calmly leaned back into the ropes, slipping to the outside of the hook again. He threw a covering right straight, immediately moving to sidestep to get back to the center of the ring rather than step in for the counter. Ashiro whirled, unwilling to let his quarry escape - he blocked the cross with his own right before throwing a desperate jab.

The left was sloppy - it was flung haphazardly at Shirai’s face, moving on a vector that resembled more of an arc than an arrow, as if Ashiro was trying to backhand his opponent.

Shirai’s surprised yell was audible from ringside as his opponent’s forearm caught him hard in the neck. The referee yelled as well, moving to step in - but he couldn’t stop Ashiro’s follow up right hook to Shirai’s solar plexus.

“...Down! Shirai’s down for the first time in the match!” Morikawa yelled. “He’s-- Wait, what’s this? The referee is signalling for a point deduction from the red corner!”

“Ashiro hit him with a forearm.” Sakata said, frowning. “It _looked_ accidental…”

“Watch your forearms, Ashiro!” The referee yelled. “Shirai, take a standing eight. Neutral corners, both of you!”

Ren glared at Ashiro. “...That wasn’t accidental, was it?”

Ann looked at Ashiro’s little smirk as he watched his opponent from a neutral corner. “...Definitely not.”

Mari grimaced in distaste. “I’ve never seen anyone better at a perfectly timed foul. Everyone cheats to some extent at high levels. You and Miyazawa both used stiff-arms, forearm crushes, and other things against each other in clinches, but like most boxers, it wasn’t what decided the match. Ashiro’s different. He probably spent the first three rounds setting that up. That’s likely why Shirai was avoiding stepping in close. So long as he kept his distance, it would have made it harder for Ashiro to do something like that.”

“...And now his feet aren’t as lively.” Ren said, grimly. Running around the way he had for the first few rounds was no small feat. "And, Ashiro has power to spare. Shirai-san can’t recover from that body blow after a single standing eight…”

The two fighters approached each other. As Ren said, Shirai’s footwork wasn’t quite as crisp now. His eyes were still alive, though. He swayed back from the leading left hook this time, slipping now to the inside to avoid the left ‘jab’--

Ren’s eyes widened. He gripped the ringside rail, yelling.

“Shit! Shirai-san! Not to the inside!”

Ashiro stepped in with a right hook; he stepped in too far, in fact.

His right elbow hammered Shirai’s face.

Shirai hit the canvas for the second time in the round. He was on his hands and knees, seemingly groggy.

Coach Shinoda and Shirai’s other seconds were protesting, yelling at the ref.

“Oh my God…” Ann gasped, her hand over her mouth. “Why isn’t he doing anything?! Why is he counting?!”

Mari shook her head. “Body position. It was his body position. That was why you yelled before the elbow came, isn’t it Amamiya-kun? Swaying back and slipping to the inside put Ashiro between Shirai and the referee… The referee couldn’t see the elbow.”

“Elbow! That was an elbow, ref!” Ren screamed, pointing at his own elbow. 

Ashiro glanced over in Ren’s direction.

He smirked.

“Son of a _bitch_!” Ren snarled.

“It’s unlikely that Shirai gets up from that.” Mari said. “He’s-- ...Oh. How the hell…?”

Shirai dragged himself to his feet, glaring across the ring at his opponent. His left hand hung down; his right gripped the rope.

“...Wait. Wait, is something wrong with his left?”

The answer came from the TV Tokyo table.

“...And there it is on instant replay.” Morikawa said, the jovial commentator’s face unusually grim. “Shirai-senshu managed to get his left hand between his jaw and that vicious elbow…”

“...But it looks like his left hand is injured.” Sakata added. “That’s not good for an outboxer like Shirai. He won’t have any way to keep his distance, now…”

“Show me a fighting pose! What’s your name? Where are you?” The referee asked Shirai.

Shirai raised his hands. His left glove shook slightly. He grit his teeth. “Hiroyuki Shirai. Tokyo. The Budokan.”

“...Can you continue?”

“I can!” Shirai snarled.

“...Alright.” The referee bit his lip. He didn’t see the foul, but the result was obvious. He turned to Ashiro. “Keep it _clean_ , red! If I see another foul, I’m disqualifying you!”

Ashiro smiled malevolently around his mouthguard. “Don’t worry. I won’t need another one to finish this.”

Shirai fought valiantly, but without his sharp lefts to fend off Ashiro’s advance, the conclusion was inevitable. He was viciously knocked around by his opponent, hooks and straights landing with impunity. Adding injury to insult were Ashiro’s merciless right straights, aimed directly at Shirai’s left. With his footwork taken out of the equation, the charismatic outboxer was forced to either avoid the punches by swaying with his upper body, or else gritting his teeth and blocking with a broken hand. Shirai swayed desperately to his right.

Ashiro’s smirk became a wide grin, his left hook careening towards Shirai’s temple. The blow was aimed at the very boundary of legality, almost far back enough to be considered a rabbit punch--

The referee dove in the way, grunting as he was struck a glancing blow in the back of the shoulder. “The bell! It’s over, Ashiro! It’s over!”

He pointed at the towel sitting lying in the middle of the ring, thrown there by Coach Shinoda.

Shirai looked at the towel, then over at Shinoda. He smiled faintly.

“Heh… Damn…”

>>>

A few moments later, Ren and Ann walked down one of the tunnels at the Budokan, towards the blue corner’s dressing room. Mari had graciously lent the former Phantom Thieves her press pass to allow them access. Ren paused just outside Shirai’s dressing room. He exchanged glances with Ann at the sound of muffled yelling inside the room.

“...This might be tough for Shirai-san. Let me go in first to see if he’s okay with visitors.”

Ren reached for the doorknob.

The door opened before he could push it, revealing Hiroyuki Shirai. The boxer sported a bandage on his face and a plaster splint on his left wrist and hand. It turned out the source of the yelling wasn’t the boxer.

“Sit down, you idiot! If you want something cold to drink, I’ll go get it!”

Shirai looked over his shoulder, grinning. “Come on, don’t be silly. I’m already up! Do you want anything-- Oh. Hey, Miya-kun! And Ann...chan…”

Shirai’s jaw dropped, carefully considering Ann in her red cocktail dress. “...Hey, Coach?”

“ _What_ , Hiro?” Shinoda asked, sighing. He recognized the tone of Shirai’s voice and the mischievous smirk on his face.

“Did I die in the ring?”

“...No.”

Shirai flashed his best grin at Ann and Ren. “Then why’s there an _angel_ standing here?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Shinoda groaned. “The kid’s gonna clock you one. And if he doesn’t, I might. Sit your ass down!”

“Alright, alright…!” Shirai laughed. He sat down on the bench in the dressing room as Shinoda left, grumbling.

“Keep an eye on this idiot for me, will you?” Shinoda said to Ren. “I’ll be back in a second.”

The coach left, closing the door behind him.

Shirai sighed as the door clicked shut. He looked over Ren in his tuxedo, Ann in her dress. “...Sorry I brought down your guys’ night.”

Ann waved her hands. “N-no, Shirai-san! You looked great out there! If it wasn’t for that elbow, you’d have won, easily!”

Shirai chuckled, looking at Ren. “Beautiful _and_ kind, Miya-kun. You’d better lock this one down.”

“I intend to.” Ren said, smiling slightly. He glanced at Shirai’s hand. “What’s the damage…?”

“X-rays at the ringside doc’s office showed that I’ve got two broken metacarpals. CT scan in the morning to make sure there’s nothing else, but it’s looking like I won’t need to get any surgery. I’m just in for at least six weeks of recovery.” Shirai said, shrugging. “I’ll still be able to fight after.”

“Good. Then you’ll get that bastard next time.” Ren said. “Ann’s right. You almost had him--”

“It won’t be up to me, Miya-kun.” Shirai said, interrupting Ren. “I’m moving up a weight class. So unless he decides to move up as well, I won’t be fighting him again.”

Ren frowned. “...Wait. This isn’t because of me, is it? Did you and Coach Shinoda find out I’m going pro?”

Shirai blinked. He grinned. “What?! That’s awesome! And that’s the first I heard of it.” His grin softened to a smile. “...No. It doesn’t have much to do with you. It’s me. Honest opinion, Miya-kun. How did I do tonight?”

Ren bit his lip. “...As I said, you almost had him.”

“Why was it almost?” Shirai pressed. “Give it to me straight. Consider it an order from your future senpai and gymmate.”

“...You were avoiding the step in on your counters because you didn’t want to get fouled after landing a hard counter.” Ren said, slowly. “...But if you had enough power to knock him out, you wouldn’t have had to worry about a follow-up foul anyway.”

“That’s about the size of it.” Shirai said, rolling his shoulders. “It’s gotten harder and harder for me to stay at welterweight. My build isn’t right for it. Right now, my counters are sharp, but they don’t leave any lasting damage unless I throw my entire weight behind them. And that’s just not a smart way to box in the long run. On top of that, fighting at this weight kills my stamina and my ability to absorb punches. The only reason I stuck it out as long as I did was out of sheer stubbornness.”

Shirai glanced over Ren’s shoulder at the door, grinning. “And to bug the Coach a little. But mostly stubbornness.”

Ren chuckled.

“Heh. Besides. The welterweight division is looking a little crowded, now. Between you, that Hayato kid, Ashiro, and Yamanaka…” Shirai whistled. “I love boxing, but you can’t love boxing if you’re dead. All you welterweight guys are _nuts_. I watched your fight, you crazy bastard. I can’t believe that ref let a couple of high schoolers beat the crap out of each other like that. My opinion? The real hero here is Ann-chan. I don’t want to imagine what you had to do to get this idiot to rest afterwards. I’ve seen how Miya-kun trains.”

Shirai paused, catching Ann’s brief sideways glance and faint blush. He grinned.

“Or maybe I _do_ want to imagine--” He raised his hands as Ren took his favored Detroit-style stance. “Hey, hey! No second-impact syndrome, please! I’ll be a gentleman!”

Ren rolled his eyes, lowering his fists. “...Anyway, I’m glad you’re feeling alright. We’re going to head back out.”

“Please do! You won’t want to miss this fight.” Shirai said. He looked up as Coach Shinoda returned, with two cans of iced coffee.

Ren nodded to Coach Shinoda as the man held the door open for Ann. Ren paused at Shirai’s voice.

“Oh. And Miya-kun?”

“I know your goal’s going to be Yamanaka…” Shirai said, his irreverent smile fading for a brief moment. “But do you think on the way, you can pound the crap out of Ashiro for me?”

Ren walked back over to Shirai, shaking his hand firmly.

“You can count on me, senpai.”

>>>

“...As you can see from Porter’s highlight reel, calling him a ‘cheese champion’ is unfair.” Sakata said, as highlights from both fighters were displayed on the massive screens around the arena as well as broadcast over TV Tokyo. “He’s a textbook southpaw outboxer who’s put together a string of solid title defenses, using solid fundamentals and outstanding footwork to beat his opponents. While he doesn’t have a true ‘Sunday punch’, Porter also doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses to exploit.”

“So what do you think Yamanaka-senshu will do, Sakata-san?” Morikawa asked.

Sakata spoke as Yamanaka’s highlight reel started. “It’s difficult to say. Mamoru Yamanaka is a generational talent - before his sudden decision to conquer the welterweight division, I thought he was going to have to be dead before anyone would pry the lightweight title off of him. He’s another boxer without an obvious finishing blow, albeit for a very different reason.”

“He _is_ called the ‘Left Hand of God’, though. So his left cross is quite strong, isn’t it?”

“Strong is an understatement.” Sakata said, shaking his head. “It comes out of nowhere. And the truly frightening thing is that as we watch his highlight reel, the viewers at home will see that he can use it in any given situation. In his ninth title defense, it was a cross-counter. In his tenth, it was a leading left cross right out of the gate in the second round. Everyone knows he’s going to use his left straight somehow, but it doesn’t matter. It reminds me a little of the famous hockey player, Alexander Ovechkin. Everyone knows where and how he’s going to shoot from, but it doesn’t matter. That’s why Yama-kun doesn’t have an obvious Sunday punch - _any_ left from him is a potential KO blow.”

“It is quite unusual, isn’t it? For him to suddenly move up a weight class after fifteen title defenses…”

“It is. He might have gotten bored.” Sakata chuckled. “The last time Yama-kun had trouble in a fight was right before his seventh title defense. That one devolved into a brawl, nearly killing the challenger and pushing the champion to take his sudden hiatus…”

The arena lights dimmed; the electric guitar riff of Shocking Lemon’s ‘ _Inner Light’_ filled the air shortly before the crowd erupted into cheers.

“Well, hopefully he’ll find some excitement tonight! And here he is! Coming to the ring as the challenger for the first time in over a decade! The pride of Japan, the former lightweight champion of the world… Mamoru Yamanaka!”

Despite the energetic music, the number one contender for the welterweight championship walked to the ring with the fluid poise he had become known for. He wore a simple white robe with ‘Ogino Boxing’ printed on the back in black, befitting his role as the challenger. But even when he held the lightweight championship, he eschewed the gaudy showmanship that was so common in the boxing world. His expression wasn’t blank, or severe. If anything, he looked _serene_. He was, as Ren pointed out so often, the closest thing boxing had to a warrior-monk. 

Yamanaka climbed into the ring. He bowed once to the ring itself, and then again to the crowd. He then turned to the red corner’s entrance - the champion’s entrance.

Danny Porter stepped out to Lil Wayne’s _‘No Worries’._ The African-American boxer raised his fist to the crowd, a confident smile on his face as fireworks lit up the arena in stark contrast to Yamanaka’s muted entrance.

“And here comes Porter-senshu!” Morikawa said into his headset for the viewers at home. “The defending WBC Welterweight Champion! Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America, he makes his first appearance at the Nippon Budokan! Will he make this his tenth title defense? Or will he be struck down by the Left Hand of God?!”

“He certainly doesn’t look worried.” Sakata said. “His choice of entrance music reflects his attitude at the pre-fight press conference, where the American showed _no_ fear at facing down a legend. He looks like he’s in top shape, Morikawa-san. He raises his arms to the crowd, showing the impressive wingspan that’s held so many challengers at bay.”

Porter stepped into the ring, doffing his robe. As the in-ring announcer introduced the fighters, they both came to the center with the referee. The referee inspected their gloves. He nodded.

“Let’s have a clean fight, gentlemen. Touch gloves and return to your corners.”

Yamanaka offered his left glove.

Porter looked down at Yamanaka’s hand. He tapped it, smirking down at the shorter boxer as he spoke in English. **“That’ll be the last time you hit me with your left tonight.”**

Yamanaka blinked. He looked over at his trainer, Taka Hirose. “Hirose-san, could you please translate?”

“He said that this will be the last time you hit him with your left.”

“Oh. I see.” Yamanaka smiled at Porter, nodding at him. “Then, can you please tell him something?”

“Of course.”

“Tell him he isn’t wrong.” Yamanaka turned to his corner. Hirose chuckled, knowing exactly what Yamanaka meant. He looked at Porter and his entourage.

“ **He says you aren’t wrong.”** Hirose smiled slightly at the looks of confusion before he clarified. **“Because this will be the last time you** **_remember_ ** **being hit with his left.”**

>>>

A young woman clad in an _Asahi_ branded bikini top and short-shorts paraded around the ring between rounds, holding a placard that said ‘Round 8’. Ann recognized her friend and colleague, Megumi ‘Megumin’ Ito. She waved at her; Megumi waved back, winking and flashing a ‘V’ sign at Ann. Ann looked over at Ren, starting to explain - after all, Ren had only met Megumi once before.

Ren’s eyes were fixed on Mamoru Yamanaka, paying absolutely no notice to the scantily-clad, busty model in the ring. Ann smiled slightly with a little sigh.

_‘I suppose I should be happy about that.’_

Ann was watching the fight, of course. She still trained with Ren when she could, and so she had some interest in the sport. Porter was managing to keep his distance from Yamanaka, but Yamanaka hadn’t taken any clean hits. The crowd was for the most part excited; it seemed like it was a close, exciting fight. But Ann was watching her boyfriend, too.

As the match progressed, Ren became progressively quieter. Now, he steepled his fingers as he studied his role model. But now, there weren’t any sparkles in his grey eyes. No hero worship. If anything, he looked grim. And so did Mari Minoru, seated on his other side. She was looking down at the viewfinder of her camera with a thoughtful frown.

_‘...Wildcard, and Minoru-san. Two people who know boxing incredibly well. What about…’_

Sure enough, at TV Tokyo’s table, Katsuo Sakata was watching quietly in anticipation, barely responding to Jyoji Morikawa’s questions. That, or he didn’t know how to describe what was happening in the ring.

“Ren… Ren, what’s going on?” Ann asked.

Ren rubbed his chin. “...Honestly, Songbird, I have no idea. Minoru-san, how are you scoring this so far?”

“About even.” Mari shook her head, swearing softly. “I can’t believe it.”

“Same. On both counts.” Ren said. He looked at Ann. “It looks like a close fight, right? And the points are the same?”

Ann nodded.

“Look at Yamanaka-san.” Ren said. “And then look at Porter’s corner.”

Yamanaka was calmly sitting on his stool in the blue corner. Coach Hirose wasn’t saying much to him; instead, the two of them just waited quietly for the start of the ninth round. In contrast, Porter was drenched in sweat; his face was contorted in a grimace as he and his chief second snapped at each other. It was a picture of sheer frustration.

Ann blinked. “Why…?”

Ren shook his head. “It isn’t a close fight. Not by a long shot. Don’t get me wrong - Porter’s an amazing boxer. He’s clearly trained for this and he isn’t making any mistakes. He’s giving everything he has to stay even with Yamanaka-san…”

“...But Yamanaka-san’s barely broken a sweat.” Ann gasped.

Ren nodded. “He’s leading Porter around by the nose. He’s closing off each weapon that Porter brings to bear, one by one. It’s just that his control over the match is so absolute that he isn’t doing it by a big counter or amazing parry. He’s doing it just by ring generalship… His body position, pressure, and vision. It’s… it’s like what he was trying to show me in Hawaii. It’s what Shirai-san wanted me to learn, too. How to force someone to fight on your terms. I thought I was close. But this… this is like magic. I’ve barely scratched the surface.”

Ann watched as Porter stood, kicking his stool out of the ring. “What do you think is going to happen?”

Ren looked at Porter; the man charged forward at the bell, abandoning his outboxing style.

“It’s over in this round.”

>>>

“Here comes Porter! He’s aiming for a brawl… And Yamanaka stands his ground!” Morikawa shouted. “A dramatic turn of events in what was a close fight! Sakata-san, what possible reason could Porter have had to throw away his strategy?!”

Sakata shook his head. “...He didn’t throw away his strategy. It was taken away from him. Yamanaka has been waiting for this. For the first eight rounds, Yamanaka showed Porter that he can turn away the best he has to offer. Porter’s out of options. If he doesn’t turn this around now, Yamanaka’s going to corner him and finish him.”

Porter moved in quickly. Right jabs were rapidly exchanged by the two southpaw fighters.

“A dazzling exchange of jabs!” Morikawa leaned forward. “Porter sways back… Yamanaka parries and returns his own! They’re both fighting to take the pace!”

Sakata shook his head. The pace was already determined. Sure enough, there was a sharp smack; Porter’s face snapped back and sweat flew as a jab finally connected. He stumbled back.

“Porter stumbles…! What power! Yamanaka moves to follow up…! Look out! A sudden _right_ straight from Porter as he switches stances!”

>>>

 _‘God_ **_damn_ ** _his jab hits like a fuckin’ truck.’_ Porter grimaced in the split second after he _let_ his opponent win the exchange. The strategy was insane. Voluntarily taking a punch from Mamoru Yamanaka was asking for trouble, even if it was ‘just’ a jab. But insane was all he had left. In the first four rounds, Porter tried to outbox and hit-and-run his way into a points lead to force Yamanaka to take risks. But the Japanese boxer held the pace without blinking. In the next two rounds, the American tried every legal trick in the book to take the pace back - every counter punch he could imagine was turned away. And then rounds seven and eight, he tried every _illegal_ trick he had. Forearm crushes, stiff-arms, elbows, anything to get Yamanaka off his game.

But these too were smoothly avoided - avoided so well that the referee hadn’t even noticed the attempted fouls.

So Porter took the punch. His head snapped back; his vision blurred briefly as sweat fell into his eyes. He stumbled back.

Into an orthodox stance.

_‘Eat this, you son of a bitch!’_

Porter’s right straight careened towards Yamanaka’s unprotected face.

>>>

Another sound of a boxing glove striking skin. A shocked silence as a man’s body struck the canvas. The referee took one look at the dreamlike expression on the fallen boxer’s face before waving his arms for the bell. A technical knockout with no count.

Mamoru Yamanaka raised his victorious left hand.

Nippon Budokan erupted in celebration as The Left Hand of God took his place among boxing’s world champions once again.

Ren gasped, only now realizing he had been holding his breath. “That… I barely saw it…”

Mari nodded numbly. “...He forced him to make that mistake, didn’t he?”

“Mistake?” Ann asked.

“This fight was billed as the ‘Southern Cross: Southpaw versus Southpaw’.” Ren said. “Yamanaka-san closed off every available angle that Porter had. If he kept to the same tactics and stance, the outcome would have been inevitable. So he gambled. He switched to orthodox and hoped to surprise Yamanaka-san. But by doing that, Porter made a mistake. He let Yamanaka-san have the biggest advantage for all southpaw fighters - southpaws are _incredibly_ used to fighting orthodox boxers. In the split second where Porter switched and punched, Yamanaka-san already took the outside position with his leading foot. He stopped the cross with a right hook to Porter’s temple, and then leveled him with a left cross. A three-two combination that was so fast it sounded like a single punch…”

Mari, Ren, and Ann watched as Yamanaka first checked on Porter - the man was alive and moving all four limbs, but in no condition to walk out of the ring. He was carried out on a stretcher.

The crowd went wild as Yamanaka received the WBC Welterweight Championship Belt. Jyoji Morikawa climbed into the ring with a microphone, approaching the new champion.

Ren smiled, winking at Ann. “I feel bad for Morikawa-san. The post-fight interview is a tradition, but Yamanaka-san avoids the microphone like the plague. Watch. He’ll turn it over to Coach Hirose, or he’ll just turn and run--”

Yamanaka smiled politely, waiting to be interviewed.

“...Oh.” Ren blinked.

Morikawa also looked taken aback. Apparently, he too was expecting to be blown off.

“Oh! Er, right… Congratulations, champion!” Morikawa said, finally.

Yamanaka bowed. “Thank you, Morikawa-san.”

“Now that you’ve conquered the welterweight division, what are your plans? Are you going to move up again?”

The legendary boxer shook his head. He smiled secretively, looking past Morikawa’s shoulder - at Ren.

“No. I think I’m going to wait here for a while for something interesting to show up.”

>>>

January 1, 2018 

Just after midnight, Ren and Ann exited the train station in Hiroo. They had taken a small detour for _hatsumode_ , but now Ren was taking his girlfriend straight home.

“Really? Just the one detour? Even though your girlfriend’s all dolled up, and you’re wearing that tux…?” Ann purred, with a teasing smile.

“You’d better believe it.” Ren said, glancing over his shoulder. “Your father still scares the crap out of me.”

Ann laughed. “Oh, come on. He loves you now, remember? When you picked me up, he didn’t let you leave until you promised to come over for dinner tomorrow so you could give him a punch-by-punch recounting of the Winter Cup Final.”

Ren shook his head. “Bit of a selective memory there, Songbird. His exact words were ‘We should have dinner tomorrow with you and your parents. Provided you bring Kei-chan home _safely and on time_.’”

“Details, details.” Ann giggled, hugging Ren’s arm. “Are your parents going to be able to make it?”

“Ah, Kaa-chan might. Oya-ji can’t, though.”

“Shame. Our mothers have met a couple times, but our fathers keep missing each other.” Ann said. On Christmas Day, when Ann’s parents returned to Tokyo from their business trip, the Amamiya family did drop by to say hello to the Takamakis. Unfortunately, Elias was out - he had been called urgently to the Tokyo office of et^2 for a couple hours.

“Yeah. I think they’d actually get along.” Ren said, smiling. “I hate to admit it, but Oya-ji has this way of making friends with anyone. And your father has a surprisingly good sense of humor for a scary-as-hell-ex-soldier.”

“He’s just a big teddy bear.” Ann beamed. They stopped at Ann’s apartment building. She smiled up at Ren. “I hope you had fun tonight?”

“Definitely.” Ren said. “Yamanaka-san’s stronger than ever at welterweight.”

Ann nodded. “Yeah. The look on Porter’s face after he got knocked out was strange… He looked almost peaceful. No pain or surprise.”

“That’s the reason why he’s called the ‘Left Hand of God’. There’s more powerful punchers out there. Maybe even a few faster ones. But no one delivers that much power combined with that kind of speed and precision. He hit him perfectly in the jaw… It’s like someone just turned off the lights.”

Ann pursed her lips. “...And a monster like that wants to fight you.”

_‘I think I’m going to wait here for a while for something interesting to show up.’_

Ren couldn’t believe that Yamanaka could have been referring to him. But the signs were patently obvious. The signed boxing gloves in Hawaii; Yamanaka scouting him at one of his high school fights; the switch to welterweight shortly after Ren’s return to boxing as a welterweight fighter. It was both thrilling and terrifying. But Ren knew that if it was frightening for _him,_ then for Ann, who just had to watch Yamanaka’s vanquished opponent leave the ring on a stretcher…

“Ann, I…”

She forestalled him with a soft kiss. “I know. I know, Ren. The way you were watching Yamanaka-san was very different from the way you used to watch him. Before, it was all hero-worship. It was really cute, even if it made me a little jealous. Tonight, right from the first round… You weren’t just watching. You were studying. This is something you’ve already made up your mind about. This is something you have to do.”

Ren stroked her cheek. “You can tell me, you know. You don’t have to be brave or hide anything from me, Songbird.”

Ann closed her eyes, leaning into his palm a little with the side of her face. “I know. I won’t lie. Some part of me wishes your lifelong ambition was to be the world’s sexiest accountant or something. Something where the most dangerous thing you’d have to do is make sure that your suit doesn’t clash with your shoes. But that’s not the guy I love. And besides, didn’t you promise to get revenge for Shirai-san?”

Ren smiled. “I did.”

Ann nodded firmly, smiling back at him as she echoed words she had spoken once before. “The guy I love keeps his promises, Wildcard.”

“That he does…” Ren murmured. He leaned in to kiss her again. One more for the road.

“ _Ahem._ ”

The two lovers jumped, separating from each other to see Elias Takamaki standing at the door to the apartment building. He raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a good thing you do keep your promises, Amamiya-kun. Another two minutes, and you would have been late.”

“Uhm… Happy New Year?” Ren said, awkwardly.

Elias just stared at Ren, his face stoic. Until his daughter elbowed him.

“ _Daddy_.” Ann glared up at her imposing (to everyone else other than Ann, Bachan, and Erika) father, her hands on her hips. Ren suppressed an amused laugh at the sight of his girlfriend somehow staring _down_ a 190 cm giant.

“Happy New Year.” Elias sighed. He shook his head, now allowing himself a little smile. “See you tomorrow for dinner, Amamiya-kun? Will your parents be able to make it?”

“Probably just my mother, Elias-san.”

“Ah. That’s a shame. Please send your father my regards, then.”

“Yessir.” Ren replied. He waved again at Ann as father and daughter disappeared into the upscale apartment building. Ren turned on his heel, headed back towards Hiroo Station. His phone buzzed.

_‘An email? At this hour?’_

**Subject: Going Pro?** **  
****Sender: Tetsuya Shinoda** **  
****CC: Shinji Takeda**

**Hey Kid,**

**I heard from Hiro. You’re making the leap, huh? Make sure you tell your folks and Shin-chan (he’s probably figured it out, though). If they’re all on board, so am I. I’ll get Kana-chan to send you dates for the next few pro exams. Make sure you pick one that doesn’t get in the way of your actual exams, and we’ll talk about a training schedule for you. Pro exam has both a written and sparring component.**

**Happy New Year** **  
****Coach Shinoda**

2018 was going to be a busy year. University entrance exams, graduation, and now the pro exam for his boxing license. Ren wasn’t quite sure where he was going to find the time for everything, but it was a problem he was happy to have. At this time last year, he was still languishing inside a holding cell, uncertain of anything other than the fact that he had protected his loved ones by giving up his freedom. He had been grateful even for that small boon.

Now, he was walking home after a date with the love of his life. Tomorrow, he’d be having dinner with her and his (probably) future in-laws. In the weeks to come, he’d be training for the right to step into the same ring as his heroes and mentors.

Ren looked up into the night sky. Tokyo was too far north to see the Southern Cross constellation, and the light pollution too strong. But it was enough to know that he stood under the same sky as Mamoru Yamanaka, Hiroyuki Shirai, and Hayato Miyazawa.

2018 was going to be busy. Studying for entrance exams and getting his boxing license at the same time was going to be challenging enough. Being a university student _and_ a pro boxer might very well be impossible.

But he couldn’t wait to try. Ren smiled up at the stars that he couldn’t see, veiled as they were behind Tokyo’s perpetual glow.

“...I won’t let any of you down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Who are you wearing?" - Had to bring this back. Used it in Cloudburst, haha
> 
> Maybe more edits later. Posting this late at night and am tired, hopefully not too many silly errors.
> 
> Next up after this chapter? Prepare for the time-honored post Christmas time skip :P


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrance exams and the final term of Ren's high school life goes by in a flash.
> 
> Two fated rivals finally meet each other on the battlefield of destiny.
> 
> The author really likes tying together seemingly innocuous details.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Highly suggested pre-reading: 'Going the Distance', obviously. But also 'You Only Get One'.
> 
> Warning: Lots of absurd slapstick/silliness that steps out of reality here. German Suplex warning applies.
> 
> Two-hundred litre drum: For size reference, this is big enough for an average human being to get inside of. Basically the size of a typical oil drum.
> 
> Shuttle runs: Horrible, punishing training exercise
> 
> Moneyball: Sports movie in which baseball is broken down into a series of statistics, making a competitive team with a limited budget by seeking out undervalued talent.
> 
> NSSU: Nippon Sports Science University
> 
> Akane/Shouta: Ryoichi Kurosawa's bandmates and fellow Jazz Club members.
> 
> LINE: Messaging app popular in Japan.
> 
> Boxing numbering system: 1 = jab, 2 = straight/cross 3 = leading hook 4 = rear hook 5 = lead uppercut 6 = rear uppercut. Sp 3-2-5 is leading/straight/upper combination, etc.
> 
> Utti Jaeger: Finnish special forces regiment
> 
> Kei-chan: Nickname that Takamaki family uses for Ann. 'Keikii' (cake) was her first word as a little one. So Kei-chan.
> 
> Ba-keiki-mono: Horribly embarrassing version of above. Play off 'bakemono' (monster). Basically little cake monster.
> 
> Voi paska: Finnish. 'Holy shit' or similar
> 
> Hearns: If you've read this far, you probably know. But Thomas Hearns, famous boxer.
> 
> Kulta: Finnish term of endearment
> 
> Goldberg: Famous pro-wrestler. Used the 'Spear' finisher.

February 13, 2018 

It was a cold day in Tokyo. A light flurry of snow drifted lazily through the air, decorating the winter wind before melting on the concrete sidewalk in Setagaya. Anyone who was out and about was bundled up in some combination of winter clothing, their breath fogging in the chill.

But Ryuji Sakamoto was not out and about.

Instead, he was sweating buckets inside Coach Shinoda’s boxing gym, swinging a sledgehammer down onto a rubber truck tire.

“Twenty!” Ryuji grunted, slamming the five kilogram hammer down for the last repetition of the set. He sighed, handing the hammer off to Shiho.

Shiho sighed, taking hold of the hammer. “Don’t you ever wish you could train by montage, RyuRyu?”

“What do you mean?” Ryuji asked.

Ren, stood by, crossing his arms with an amused smirk as Shiho started her own set, the metal head hammering the solid rubber. “It means that Shiho’s already complaining. Even though she’s the one who suggested we all work out to get our minds off of tomorrow.”

“Oh, come on!” Shiho clenched her jaw, hammering the tire again. Although she had retired from the volleyball team, she was clearly still keeping herself in shape. “Even you have to admit it would be awesome, Champ. Instead of sweating our asses off, we’d just show up some music would play, time would pass, and then bam, fighting fit.”

Ryuji perked up, recognition flashing across his face. “Right, right! You mean those training sequences they use in sports movies? Where they do weeks of hard work over like four minutes?”

Shiho grunted, striking the tire again. “Mmhm! It would have been nice for the past few months, too. Instead of actually _experiencing_ all the studying, all of us third years could have just hit the books to some catchy training-appropriate tune.”

Ren took the hammer from Shiho to start his set. He shook his head, chuckling. “It wasn’t _all_ studying, Shiho…”

Ryuji nodded, grinning. “Right. A Phantom Thieves Family montage over the past few months would have to include Yusuke getting owned by a blank canvas for the week that Haru was away visiting that coffee farm in South America.”

Yusuke hadn’t taken the absence of his girlfriend/muse very well. At one point, Ryuji had walked in on the artist trying to eat a sandwich that tasted like cardboard. Ryuji later found out it was because part of the sandwich _was_ cardboard. Yusuke had substituted the lettuce in his daze.

“And then it would have to include _you_ getting owned by that letter you left unopened from Sophia University for _two_ weeks.” Ren snickered between hammer swings. Ryuji received a letter from his preferred university a few weeks after his documents and recommendation letters had been sent to them. The bottle-blond was so anxious about what the letter might have said that he left it unopened, fixed to the refrigerator with a magnet for two weeks. It got to the point where Ryuji started to refuse even going into the kitchen.

Shiho snorted. “And what about you, Champ? Wouldn’t it also include you almost getting kicked off the train to Kamakura because of how much you were pacing up and down the aisle? Blondie told me how nervous you were about telling your parents you were going pro.”

After Ren made his decision, he knew immediately he had to go in person to explain things to his parents. He paced with such a severe frown on his face that the other passengers on the train thought he was either going to have a heart attack or commit an act of terrorism.

“Heh. Yeah…” Ren said, the sledgehammer thudding into the rubber. He smiled through the sweat. “Almost everything worked out for all of us, though. Yusuke got over his block the moment Haru got back to Tokyo. And he’s already been accepted at the Tokyo University of the Arts.”

“And Makoto got fed up and opened the letter in front of me.” Ryuji grinned, sheepishly. “Funny way to find out that Sophia University wants me on their track team. Man. That sure took a lot of stress off. That means I just need a passing grade when we check the results tomorrow.”

“Yep! And that should be doable, RyuRyu. Mako-chan turned you into a pretty good student _while_ acing her first year at Toudai…” Shiho said. “And things worked out okay in Kamakura, didn’t they?”

“Better than okay.” Ren said, shaking his head as he put his sledgehammer down. “They’re completely behind me.”

Kenji and Inoue Amamiya were completely supportive of his decision to go pro, provided that he stayed healthy and obtained a university education. It was challenging, of course. Going pro meant he couldn’t get into Waseda University via boxing anymore - collegiate boxers couldn’t be on the professional circuit. Thankfully, his grades were good enough to get an academic recommendation letter from Kawakami. But he still needed to deliver a decent score on the entrance exam.

The three athletes stretched, their workout complete. Shiho sighed. “And that covers less than half the ‘family’, huh? We didn’t even talk about Blondie, Gremlin, or the boxing club.”

“I know. And we didn’t even get to talking about your torrid romance.” Ren said, smirking.

“H-hey!” Shiho stammered, her already-flushed face deepening in color. “ _He_ kissed _me_. Totally his fault.”

“Uh huh.” Ryuji grinned. “And it’s also Kurosawa’s fault that you pinned him to the window of the band room, where everyone could see you kissing him back?”

“I… I was just really happy that he got into a music program in Tokyo.” Shiho mumbled, looking down at her shoes.

“You really _are_ all offense and no defense, aren’t you?” Ren grinned. “Oh! Speaking of offense, any plans on making chocolate for Kurosawa?”

“Excuse you? How is that ‘offense’?” Shiho scoffed.

Ren and Ryuji just stared flatly at Shiho.

Shiho ‘hmphed’. “I’ll have you know that Ryo-chan’s so into me that he insisted on making ‘reverse-chocolates’. He’s out shopping with Blondie, Mako-chan, and Haruru.”

Ren grinned at Ryuji. “Translation: Ann told Shiho that she’s not allowed to set foot in her kitchen until Valentine’s Day is over.”

Shiho glared at Ren. “You know Champ, I could use another set with the sledgehammer. Can you pass it over?”

>>>

“Ah, perfect! Guys, this is what we need, right here!” Ann waved at her friends with her free hand, her smile lighting up the corridor in Shibuya’s underground mall.

Makoto glanced at Ann’s other hand - the blonde girl already had a multitude of shopping bags looped over her hand and draped over her arm, in addition to the ones that Makoto, Haru, and Ryoichi were also holding for her. The brunette sighed wearily.

“Are you sure, Ann? The last time you said that, you pulled us into a boutique and ended up buying three more outfits…”

Ann’s smile became just slightly brittle. “I’m clearly standing in front of a chocolate shop this time. And you wouldn’t deny a girl some retail therapy, would you? Especially when her _entire future_ is riding on the results of a _ridiculously_ difficult exam?”

“Now, now…” Haru patted Ann’s arm. Or at least she tried to - her own hands held four shopping bags each. “I’m sure it went fine, Ann-chan.”

Ryoichi nodded, peering at the price tag on a chocolate mould through his glasses. “Mm. Shiho says you studied really hard, Takamaki-san. I think you’ll be fine.”

“Oh. Kurosawa-kun, you don’t need to buy that.” Ann smiled. “I’ve got plenty of different moulds at my place.”

Kurosawa frowned. “I wouldn’t want to impose. It seems a bit weird for me to be the only guy there, doesn’t it? I would have thought this would be something that you’d want to do with Shiho.”

Ann, Makoto, and Haru exchanged glances. Ann smiled tightly. “Aheh… Let’s just say there’s a reason I suggested you do the reverse-chocolate thing, Kurosawa-kun.”

Makoto nodded seriously. “In the future, please ensure you have the phone number for poison control programmed into your phone. Particularly when you’re feeling ill, and Shiho feels she should cook for you.”

“Oh, come on. She can’t be that bad. I’d be happy to eat anything that makes for me. I should call her and tell her I’d be happy to have her chocolate--...” Ryoichi trailed off at the looks of profound pity he received from the trio of girls. “...Uh… So, no moulds. Then, I should buy this type of chocolate for truffles, right?”

Ann smiled wryly. “Smart boy.”

The four of them made their purchases. As Ann slipped her chocolates into one of her shopping bags, the clerk, a teenage girl, spoke up anxiously.

“Ah! T...Takamaki-san! I’m sorry to be so rude, but can I ask--...Oh!”

Ann smiled warmly at the girl, a gold permanent marker already in hand. “I’d be happy to, Sakoshita-san.”

“H-how did you know my name?!”

“Your nametag, sweetie. So what can I sign for you?” Ann chuckled.

Haru giggled as they left the store. “You’ve become a household name, Ann-chan.”

Ann rubbed the back of her neck, blushing faintly. “I guess? I think I’m getting used to it. It’s still a bit weird to see myself on advertisements everywhere, though.”

“There’s already students at Waseda asking me about you.” Haru said.

Ann winced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that I was targeting Waseda in that interview. I got a little carried away, especially when I told them I was excited to be going to school with a close friend.”

“It’s fine!” Haru laughed. “The girls mostly want to be your friend. The boys ask if you’re _really_ dating someone. And if he’s _really_ that scary of a boxer. For the record, I tell them ‘yes’ on both counts.”

Ann gave Haru an anxious smile. “It’s nice they’re assuming I’m going to get in.”

Makoto shook her head, squeezing Ann’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Ren will be fine to get in, too. I’m honestly a little more worried about what you two are going to do _after_ you get in. You two were already busier than you’ve ever been this winter. Between your modeling, his preparation for the pro boxing exam, and both of you studying for entrance exams, you barely had any quality time together. Things aren’t going to be any easier when you get to university.”

Ann sighed. “We’ll figure it out. Ren said that if we get to the point where we’re worried about that, then that means at least we’re in Waseda together. First-world relationship problems. It’s not like we’re moving to different cities.”

Makoto sighed, smiling. “There is that. Ryuji and I managed to avoid that, too.”

Ryoichi chuckled. “Yeah. We all did, didn’t we? It’s amazing how even though we’re all staying in the city, everything’s changing. I barely feel like a Shujin student anymore.”

Makoto nodded, a nostalgic smile crossing her lips. “Mm. Haru and I felt the same way last year. I think that’s probably another reason they excuse the third-years from classes once exams are finished, Kurosawa-kun. By the time the grad ceremony comes around, I think most of us felt like the transition was well under way. The time off really eases things along.”

“Yeah…” Ann mumbled. “I hope Futaba, Kana-chan, and Kaoru-kun are going to be fine without us.”

“I’m sure they will.” Ryoichi said. He paused, glancing at Makoto. “Speaking of easing things along. Niijima-senpai, what _exactly_ am I supposed to do with the two-hundred litre drum of ‘personal lubricant’ you sent to my apartment? It takes up a lot of space.”

Makoto smiled pleasantly. The smile did not reach her eyes. “Just invite Shiho over late at night, and then take a picture of the look on her face when she sees it.”

>>>

“Come on, Shujin! Get the lead out!” Eiji yelled, clapping his hands as he stood on the track, watching his juniors run. He looked over at his co-captain, Shou. “Their intervals could use some work, wouldn’t you say, Co-Captain Kimura?”

Shou nodded seriously. “Indeed, Co-Captain Aikawa. I hoped they’d look a little more energetic after hearing that former captain Amamiya-senpai would be joining us for one last training camp over spring break. Maybe we should do shuttle runs until morale improves--Ow!”

_-THWACKTHWACK-_

Eiji and Shou stumbled forward into identical squats, rubbing their heads. Kaname stood behind them, brandishing her shinai. A vein was throbbing just above her brow, her free hand was clenched in a fist; her eyes seemed nearly ablaze. She was indeed Shujin Academy’s Legendary Demon Trainer.

“The _fuck_ are you two doing?! The reason they look so unenergetic is because their useless ‘Co-Captains’ are standing here with their thumbs up their asses!” Kaname wound up with her shinai like it was a golf club; another firm smack delivered to the two slackers’ backsides sent them yelping onto the track. “Kimura and Aikawa, shuttle runs! The rest of you, take a break. Iwai! Lead the cooldown and stretches.”

“Yes Coach!” Kaoru said. He turned to the other boxers. “One lap at a jog, guys. Then line up to stretch.”

Kaname allowed a little smile, watching Kaoru with pride. While soon-to-be third years Shou and Eiji had taken over the reigns from Ren, it was patently obvious who was heir-apparent. Initially, Kaname had been a little worried what Ren’s retirement from high school boxing would do to the featherweight. But her concerns were unfounded. Ever since his win at the Winter Cup, Kaoru had really come into his own - he seemed determined to ensure that the club would continue to be a success. And it was out of a sense of pride and accomplishment, rather than any strange man-crush on Ren.

Kaoru finished his lap, standing beside Kaname as he led the team through their stretches. He glanced over at her, speaking so only she could hear.

“Hey, Coach. I sounded like Amamiya-senpai there, right? Do you think he’d like it if I did that during the training camp--Ow!”

Kaname sighed, her shinai now resting on Kaoru’s head. _Mostly_ out of pride and accomplishment, anyway. She shook her head at her boyfriend. “You’d think that my best boxer would be more excited about the prospect of _training_ , rather than his unhealthy infatuation.”

“Aheh.” Kaoru smiled sheepishly.

“The fact that you aren’t denying it makes it even worse.” Kaname grumbled. Her boyfriend really did have a boxing glove for a brain. He probably didn’t even consider the fact that the spring break training camp was going to be in Kamakura again, where they’d have access not only to the Amamiya Ryokan, but also a beautiful beach, and--

“Well. I’m really excited to be going to Kamakura with _you_ again too, Kana-chan.” Kaoru said, quietly. He kept his face neutral as he dutifully continued his stretches.

“K-Kaoru…!” Kaname hissed, casting a quick eye at the boxers, None of them noticed her expression, thankfully. She coughed. “Don’t get your hopes up, Iwai. I’ve got a _brutal_ training menu set up for you jerks. And it’s _tons_ of work for me to get everything going, so it’s not like I’ll have time to mess around--”

“Then it’s a good thing you’ll have your assistant managers with you.” A girl spoke up, on Kaname’s other side.

Kaname turned to the two new assistant managers. It turned out that recruiting candidates hadn’t been difficult at all. Unsurprisingly, most of the applicants were girls - after watching Ren and Kaoru fight at the Winter Cup, there were more than a few hopefuls with less than honorable intentions. Fortunately, weeding out the insincere was also pretty easy.

Kaname smiled in fond recollection of the obstacle course she had set up on the muddy riverbank in the middle of the winter. 

It had almost been _too_ tough. But in the end, she had gotten two good assistant managers.

Yuka Sakaki and Mayu Tanizawa stood at attention in front of Kaname. Yuka, Kaname’s former bully, held a clipboard and pencil. Mayu had bottles of water for the team. It was strange, at first. Kaname thought it was some sort of plot for revenge, or some attempt to drive a wedge between her and Kaoru. But in the end, only Yuka and Mayu survived the culling. And Mayu cleared the air quite effectively.

_‘T-there. We finished… your stupid obstacle course… freaking psycho…’_

_‘Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you through the layers of mud and stupidity.’_

_‘I said we finished! And it wasn’t even that hard.’_

_‘Then you can run another--’_

_‘Yu-chan, don’t you think that’s enough? Takeda-san, can we talk…?’_

_‘M… Mayu-chan, wait… ...It’s my responsibility. Let me.’_

It turned out that Yuka and Mayu actually watched the Winter Cup. Initially as Ren’s fans, of course. But as the tournament wore on, they saw more and more of what Kaname was doing for the team, how much she was invested in them, and how much they were invested in her. At the end of the day, it made Yuka look more closely at what she was doing with her high school years. Instead of being bitter and jealous, why not find her own way to get involved?

And so, with Kaoru, Ren, and Ann’s encouragement, Kaname gave them a chance. And now, against all odds, they were almost _friends_.

Kaname nodded curtly to Yuka and Mayu. “I’m glad you’re coming. Don’t forget to run it by your parents, though, okay? We’ll be gone for about half of spring break.”

“Yes Coach!”

Kaoru watched as the two girls left to carry out their duties. He smiled at Kaname.

“...What?” Kaname asked, crossing her arms.

“Nothing. I’m just really proud to be your boxer and boyfriend, Kana-chan.”

Kaname looked up and down the field; she glanced at the track. No one was looking at her and Kaoru. She smiled at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Kaoru--”

- _Click-_

Kaname turned, red-faced to look at Tomoko and Futaba. Futaba wore her Shujin uniform, along with a laminated badge that read ‘AV CLUB ~~PRESIDENT~~ BIG CHEESE’. Tomoko wore a matching badge that read ‘AV CLUB VICE BIG CHEESE’. Futaba peered over Tomoko’s shoulder at the viewfinder of the camera. In turn, Mona peered over Futaba’s shoulder from his perch in her bag.

“Oooh, nice shot, To-yo!”

“I think so, too, Futaba-chan.”

“Hm. You really captured her cute side.” Mona added.

“Heh. I can’t get over how your cat meows like he’s talking to us.”

“I’m not a cat!”

Futaba grinned. “Heh. We haven’t done that gag in awhile, Mona.”

“Haha. That’s true-- Oh. You two should probably run.”

Kaname stalked over to the two girls. “You’re going to delete that, or I’m going to delete _you_.”

“Oh come on, Kana-chan. Is that any way to talk to your besties? The very same besties who are going to help you make chocolates today?” Tomoko said.

“It’s already taken care of.” Kaname scoffed. “I bought some this morning on the way to school.”

Tomoko blinked. She affected a wide-eyed look. “ _Store-bought_? For your oh-so-popular boyfriend?”

Futaba looked grim. “Your ‘Romance Against Replacement’ level just dropped, Kana-chan.”

“Don’t Moneyball my love life, Futaba.” Kaname grumbled. “Kaoru said he was fine with whatever kind of chocolate I got him.”

Tomoko rolled her eyes. “Were you holding a shinai when you asked?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Kaname asked, defensively.

“That’s a yes.” Futaba snickered.

Tomoko sighed. She looked over at Yuka and Mayu. “Hey! We’re stealing your manager. Are you guys good from here?”

“Yes!”

“Leave it to us!”

Kaoru looked up from where he was helping a teammate stretch. “Heading out, Coach? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Iwai, because I’m not going anywhere.” Kaname said, giving Tomoko and Futaba an obstinate look.

“What a shame.” Tomoko said, loudly. “Poor KaoKao. Even on Valentine’s Day, he won’t be getting homemade chocolates from his beloved Ka--”

Kaname clamped a hand over Tomoko’s mouth. She and Kaoru still weren’t public yet. “On second thought, I’m heading out early. You jerks better practice hard! I...Iwai! I’ll see you tomorrow when we meet up with Renpai and the others!”

>>>

February 14, 2018 

Sadayo Kawakami stood at Shujin Academy’s shoe lockers, well after the final bell of the day. She checked her watch for the sixth time in the past thirty minutes and crossed her arms tensely in front of her stomach. She then changed her mind, stooping down to readjust the three shopping bags at her feet for no reason other than to keep herself occupied.

_‘They should be here by now. Something must have gone wrong.’_

Today, entrance exam results were being announced for several prominent universities in Tokyo. Of course, everyone already knew how they had done on the National Center Examination. Those results had been available in January. For many students, that was enough to secure them a place in their school of choice. But the most prestigious universities required all candidates to take an institution-specific exam; one that took place afterwards, and was usually much more difficult than the national examination.

These universities of course included all of Waseda, Sophia, and NSSU - the preferred schools of Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Shiho. Ryuji and Shiho already had provisional acceptances due to track and volleyball, and both Ann and Ren had strong recommendation letters that Kawakami wrote personally. But all four still had to perform reasonably well on a challenging exam.

Kawakami bit her lip. _‘I can’t believe they’re late! Do they have any idea how worried I am!?’_

Over the past two years, Kawakami had formed a close bond not only with Ren, but a number of his friends. She was already feeling sad to see them move on from Shujin, but knowing that they’d go on to pursue their dreams at their preferred schools would certainly set her heart at ease.

The front door of Shujin Academy slowly creaked open.

Kawakami looked up. “It’s about time, you guys! How could you keep me waiting? So how did it… ...go…”

The teacher’s mouth hung open in disbelief as Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Shiho slowly walked in, dragging their feet. Ryuji’s jaw was set as he stared at the floor; his shoulders shook slightly. Shiho’s fists were balled up at her hips as she looked at anything _but_ their homeroom teacher. Ann sniffled loudly, burying her face in Ren’s shoulder.

As for the alleged former leader of the Phantom Thieves, he quietly stroked Ann’s hair, his expression subdued, sullen. Almost how he looked the day she met him.

“How… how could this have happened?!” Kawakami shouted. “I half-expected this from Sakamoto-kun, but the rest of you?! I’ll make some calls! I’ll lodge protests! I won’t have this--”

Ren grinned. Slowly, he raised his free hand, forming a circle between his thumb and index finger. Ann turned to look at Kawakami as well; her eyes were bright and happy, not swollen and red. She too made the universal sign for ‘OK’.

Kawakami’s jaw dropped again as she looked at Shiho and Ryuji.

Shiho’s shit-eating grin made her ‘OK’ sign unnecessary. Ryuji raised his arms slowly into an ‘X’ across his chest… and then threw them into the air, forming a huge circle.

“Oh…. YEEEEEAAAAAH!” Ryuji screamed. “We totally did it, teach. Though, seriously? You ‘half-expected this’ from me? Come on.”

Shiho grinned. “Hahaha. The look on your face was _priceless_ , Kawakami-sensei. Did you really think your four favorite students would let you down like that? You should have a little more faith in your teaching skills--...”

Kawakami burst into tears.

Ann gasped. She turned, smacking both Ren and Shiho’s arms. “I _told_ you this was a bad idea! Sensei, we’re _really_ sorry! Please stop crying. Tissue, I think I have a tissue…”

Kawakami waved Ann off, wiping at her eyes. She smiled through the tears. “I’m not angry, Ann. I’m not. I’m just so happy…”

The four students paused; they exchanged glances and smiles.

“You four are such troublemakers… But I’m really going to miss you.”

“There’s still the grad ceremony, sensei.” Ren chuckled, going to his locker. “And all of us are still going to be in town, remember?”

“I suppose…” Kawakami said. “Speaking of ‘all of us’, where’s Kurosawa-kun?”

“Ah, Ryo-chan’s all good. His music program does admissions based on auditions, so he didn’t have results to check today.” Shiho said. “He’s lending some emotional support to Akane-chan and Shouta-kun. They were aiming for a school in Kyoto that requires an exam.”

Shiho glanced at the shopping bags at Kawakami’s feet. “Oh? What’s in the bags, sensei?”

“Oh. These. Well..--”

“Whoa!” Ryuji crowed, opening his locker. “Look at this!”

They turned; Ryuji’s locker had been filled with brightly colored boxes and gift bags - Valentine’s Day chocolates.

Ryuji sighed, shaking his head. “Really, you’d think that they’d know better. Everyone knows I’m dating Makoto… What a pain, huh?”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You say ‘what a pain’, but the grin on your face says something else entirely.”

Shiho snapped a picture. “Mmmhm. Wonder what Mako-chan would say about you looking so thrilled there, RyuRyu.”

“Oh, come on, Shiho.” Ryuji chuckled (a little nervously). “Makoto’s chocolates are the ones I _really_ want today.”

“Better get Shiho to record you saying that too, Ryuji.” Ren said dryly. He opened his own locker. “I’d wipe off the cold sweat first, though.”

“Tch. You’re just jealous.” Ryuji said, peering over Ren’s shoulder. The boxer’s locker was completely empty. “That’s what you get for you and Ann being all over each other all the time.”

Ren laughed. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Ann stuck her tongue out at Ryuji before hugging Ren’s arm happily. She glanced at Ren’s locker. “It’s a bit weird, though. From the way that people were talking about you two after the Winter Cup, I could have sworn that you and Kaoru-kun would have been doing the whole ‘chocolates exploding out of the locker’ romcom gag.”

Kawakami sighed. “Well…”

Ann blinked. “Sensei?”

“There’s an explanation for why that didn’t happen with Iwai-kun.”

Ren suddenly looked grim. “What did Kana-chan do? Do we have to hide bodies?”

“No. Nothing like that. Go and look at his locker, though. There _was_ an explosion.”

Ren cautiously opened the shoe locker. “...Why is the entire thing soaked in ink?”

“Look behind you.” Kawakami sighed again.

Ren turned around. The same deep blue ink was splattered on the lockers across from Kaoru’s. There was a perfect silhouette of unstained lockers in the middle of the blue burst, in the shape of a person.

Ann gasped. “She _didn’t_.”

Kawakami rolled her eyes. “Technically, no one can prove anything. And how could a highschool girl possibly get access to one of those exploding ink packs from a bank? That being said…”

Kaname walked in, dressed in her gym outfit and toting a bucket of water, along with a number of cleaning supplies.

“Hey, Renpai! Did you all get in?” Kaname asked, a chipper smile on her face.

“Y-yeah.” Ren said, watching numbly as Kaname started humming, scrubbing away at the lockers.

Ryuji watched as the ink was easily wiped away. “...Huh. That’s weird. Anti-theft ink packs are supposed to be like permanent markers.”

“I know, right?” Kaname said. “It’s like _whoever_ booby-trapped Iwai’s locker _mercifully_ changed out the ink, even though she _totally didn’t have to_ . I mean, if the hypothetical culprit was hypothetically made to clean up the lockers even though she wasn’t the bimbo-in-heat that tripped the ink pack, wouldn’t you say the theoretical criminal is the _real_ victim here?”

“Keep scrubbing, Takeda.” Kawakami grumbled. “You’re lucky it’s not permanent ink. I managed to keep Hasegawa-san’s parents from looking into this further. As far as they know, it’s an ‘anonymous prank’, and they’re happy so long as the school pays for a new uniform for their daughter.”

“That’s nice of the school.” Kaname said, wringing out her sponge.

“ _You’re_ the one paying. I’ll expect--”

“Envelope’s in your pocket~” Kaname said, happily. “This was worth every cent.”

Kawakami blinked. She reached into her pocket, withdrawing an envelope containing the appropriate amount of money to cover the cost of one uniform.

“How the hell did you…” Kawakami looked at Kaname, who simply smiled pleasantly back at the teacher. “...God, you’re scary. Anyway. As for Ren…”

She deposited the three large shopping bags at Ren’s feet. “Your locker exploded too. Several times, in fact.”

Ren knelt down, collecting the bags. Neither he nor Ann seemed surprised. Ryuji peered over Ren’s shoulder. Each bag was packed with elaborately decorated boxes and bags of chocolate, as well as a few plushies and other trinkets.

Ryuji’s jaw dropped. He looked at his locker, then back at Ren’s bags. “That’s... that’s crazy.”

Ren frowned, catching a limited-edition Jack Frost plushie as it tumbled out of one of the bags. He looked at Ryuji, the faintest little smirk at the corner of his lips. “I know. _What a pain_ , right?”

“Oh, shut up.” Ryuji grumbled.

Shiho chuckled. She looked over at Ann. “You’re okay with this, Blondie?”

Ann shrugged, helping Ren with the bags. “These girls…” Ann blinked, glancing at the name printed on one of the envelopes attached to a box. “Oh, and some guys... just want their feelings heard and acknowledged. It’s not like they expect Wildcard to fall madly in love with them. Besides! Ren’s first and last chocolate of the day are going to be from me, anyway!”

The group was soon joined by Futaba, Mona, and Kaoru - together, they all helped Kaname clean up, turning the punishment into an activity that filled the hallways with laughter. Kawakami leaned in the doorframe as the group left, walking in the light of the setting sun. She smiled.

_‘At least I got through that without crying more than once.’_

“ _Kiritsu!”_ Ren’s sharp call cut into the winter air with the usual command to ‘stand to attention’ at the start of a class, startling Kawakami. She watched as Ren, Ann, Shiho, and Ryuji turned around to face her.

The third-years smiled at their homeroom teacher; they nodded to Ren.

“ _Rei_!”

All four of them bowed deeply.

_“Arigatou gozaimashita, Kawakami-sensei!”_

As it turned out, Kawakami was wrong about crying only once.

>>>

February 17, 2018 

“Ren! Welcome home!”

Ren closed the door of his Uber, thumping the roof twice in the universal sign for ‘all clear’ before turning to hug his mother.

“Thanks, Kaa-chan.” Ren said. He smiled as Inoue - as usual - held him back at arm’s length, critically inspecting her son.

“Are you hungry? You’re looking a bit thin, sweetie.”

Ren chuckled. “I’m almost at the limit for welterweight these days. But I love you too.”

Inoue giggled; she took Ren’s arm as they walked back into the inn. Ren greeted a few of the staff as he and his mother made their way to the family quarters.

“I see city life has changed some of your traditional Japanese sensibilities, Ren.” Inoue teased, bringing out some tea for her son. “Typical Asian families don’t say ‘I love you’, remember? We just feed you when you’re not hungry, say you’re looking thin when you’re the opposite, and worry you’re not wearing warm enough clothes, even in the middle of the summer.”

“Good thing we’re not terribly traditional, then.” Ren mused. He looked down at his tea thoughtfully. “...Well. About _most_ things.”

Inoue paused at the shift in Ren’s tone. She looked at him curiously, taking a seat with him at the Japanese-style table. “Ren…? What’s going on? I knew there was something a bit odd about you insisting on visiting just to talk about your exam results. You texted us with how you did, after all.”

“Ah, well. I have something else I need to talk to you and Oya-ji about.” Ren said, a soft smile on his face. “I think you would have been happy even if I didn’t talk to you first… But I think this is something worth doing properly.”

>>>

February 18, 2018 

On Sunday morning, Ren made his way down to the platform for the JR Shonan Shinjuku Line at Kamakura station, accompanied by his parents. It was a strange feeling, certainly. The last time his parents had seen him off from the train station together was before he left to start his probation in Tokyo. At the time, their smiles were forced; their goodbyes strained. Ren glanced down the platform, where one of Masayoshi Shido’s goons had been keeping an eye on the family of three on that day, almost two years ago.

Today, the only people on the platform were people looking to spend the day in Tokyo, or else commuters heading into the city to start work on Monday. And his parents’ smiles weren’t forced, either.

“Well. This is it, kid.” Kenji said, putting his thick hand on Ren’s shoulder and giving his son an affectionate shake. “Good luck.”

Inoue nodded, smiling up at her son. “Not that you’ll need it, sweetie. You have it on you, right?”

Ren stuck his hand in the breast pocket of his jacket to check for the third time this morning. “I do, Kaa-chan. I’ll make sure this gets to where it belongs.”

“I know you will, Ren.” Inoue said, wiping at her eyes. “My little Ren-chan…”

“Heh…” Ren smiled. “I’m still not sure if I should take this, Kaa-chan. What are _you_ going to do?”

Inoue shook her head, waving her hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m due for an upgrade anyway.”

Kenji nodded. “Mmhm. And it’s tradition! I mean, it’s the same one I used to--...Upgrade?”

Inoue beamed at her husband, who immediately paled. “Mmmhm!”

Ren snickered. He glanced at the LED readout on the wall. “Anyway, the train’s almost here. You two don’t need to hang around.”

“Ah, wait, kid. There’s one more thing.” Kenji said, fishing around in his coat. He pulled out a thick envelope, shoving it into Ren’s hands. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Ren opened the envelope. His eyes widened at the stack of ten-thousand yen notes. “! Holy… Seriously, what _is_ this?!”

Kenji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking a lot like his son. “Ah… Well. During your probation, when you started working all those part time jobs and sent money back to us… ...Well, we didn’t need it. We were doing okay.”

“Oya-ji... You were repairing junk you found at flea markets to sell to people…” Ren mumbled, shaking his head. “And Kaa-chan was working part time for Coach Takeda…”

Kenji waved his hands hurriedly. “Er, then, we just took it as a loan. This is us paying it back. With a bit of interest.”

“Tou-san, Kaa-chan, I can’t take this.” Ren started to shove the envelope back at his father. “It’s too much. I gave you that money because it was all my fault, and--”

“Stop that right now, Ren.” Inoue said suddenly, glaring at her son. Her stern expression softened almost immediately as she took the envelope, slipping it into Ren’s breast pocket beside the other item. “We never blamed you. Like I told you during Sports Day in your second year… We were proud of you from the moment you stepped up to help that woman. Everything that came after was hard, but I’d rather have dealt with that than have a son who stood by and did nothing.”

She straightened out his jacket before standing to fondly pat Ren’s head. “Besides. You want to move out of Leblanc, don’t you? Between that, the cost of going pro, and starting university, you’re going to need this money. We haven’t had you home all year. Let us spoil you a little, okay?”

Ren rubbed at his own eyes. He smiled as his mother hugged him. “Alright. Just this one time.”

Kenji laughed. “Please. You’ll be home and begging for my help within a month of starting your adult life, kid.”

Ren looked at his father sadly. He spoke with surprising respectful formality. “I hope so, Otou-san.”

Kenji blinked. “...What?”

“It means that you’ll still be alive. I mean, you don’t have many years left, right?”

“I’m _thirty-nine_.”

Inoue coughed, nudging Kenji with her elbow.

“...Plus one.” Kenji muttered.

“Ah. They say memory is one of the first things to go. Better look out for incontinence next, Kaa-chan--whoops!”

Ren slipped a lariat from his father, dancing back into the open door of the JR Shonan train. He flashed a grin through the glass, in his trademark hitman stance.

“Later, Oya-ji! Stay alive until I get home!”

>>>

March 3, 2018 

**RA: Hey, Songbird. What are you up to today? Want to catch a movie?**

**AT: Oh! Sorry, Wildcard. I have a shoot today. I thought I told you?**

**RA: Ah, right. See you after, then? When are you done?**

**AT: Not until the evening, after six? :( Feeling lonely, are you? Miss me already? <3 <3 Always a bit tougher when my parents are in town, huh?**

**RA: Of course. See you later tonight, then <3**

Ren closed LINE; his home screen told him that it was only four in the afternoon. He looked up at Ann’s apartment building. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, willing himself to relax as he mentally rehearsed everything he intended to say. It was similar to what he did before a boxing match, right down to visualizing his ‘opponent’.

A hand clapped onto his shoulder, knocking the careful planning right out of his head. Ren startled, turning to look up at Elias Takamaki.

Elias nodded to him. “Ren-kun! What a nice surprise. Kei-chan’s not home yet, but you’re welcome to come up and wait.”

“R-right. Thank you, Elias-san.” Ren managed to get out. He followed the imposing Finnish-Japanese man into the elevator that felt about half as large as it used to, and then into the apartment that he _swore_ used to have better air circulation than this. He took a seat at the coffee table, across from Elias and Erika Takamaki.

Erika smiled warmly at Ren. “It’s good to see you, Ren-kun.” She blinked. “Oh! You look sharp today! Are you and Kei-chan going out after her shoot?”

“Er… Yeah.” Ren said. He self-consciously adjusted the suit and dress-shirt he had picked out for this. His casual clothes seemed too… well, casual. And wearing his uniform would only serve to remind Erika and Elias that he was still technically a high school student for a few more weeks. He was thankful that he skipped the tie, though. That would have felt _way_ too constricting.

Erika’s smile faded as she looked at Ren more closely. “...Are you feeling well, Ren-kun? You look a little pale.”

“I’m… I’m fine.” Ren said. His health was fine, but he was a nervous wreck.

Elias frowned. “You can tell us what’s going on, Ren-kun.”

Ren coughed. “Well… You see, I’m not here to see Ann. I’m here to speak with you. Both of you.”

“What about?” Erika asked, curiously.

Ren hesitated; his rehearsed lines were still completely absent from his mind. So instead, he bit his lip, simply reaching into the shopping bag he had with him. He took out a box and placed it on the coffee table between him and Ann’s parents, opening it to reveal a selection of fine pastries and sweets.

“Oh! How thoughtful! What’s the occa...sion…”

Ren produced a second, smaller box. He opened it, placing it on the coffee table beside the box of pastries.

In the small box was a ring, made out of rose gold. The setting resembled a delicate flower blossom, set with a single stone - a round cut, brilliant diamond. The same one that Kenji Amamiya used to propose to Inoue Yoshioka.

Erika stared at the ring. Her puzzled expression lasted only a moment. “Oh. ...Oh!” She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “Of course, Ren-kun! Of course we’d love you to--”

“Erika.”

Ren’s heart sank as he looked at Elias Takamaki. The imposing Finn’s expression was carefully composed as he looked first at the ring, and then at Ren. Icy blue eyes scrutinized the young Japanese man.

“And what would you do if I told you ‘no’, Amamiya-san?”

“Elias!” Erika protested.

Ren started to respond hastily, until he recognized the look in Elias’ eyes. It wasn’t disapproval. It was a challenge. He stared evenly at Ann’s father.

“Then I’d ask her anyway, Takamaki-san.”

After a moment, Elias nodded firmly, smiling at Ren. “Good answer, Ren-kun. Then yes. You have my blessing.”

Erika squealed; she leaned over the coffee table, nearly upending the box of treats as she pulled Ren into a hug. She and Ren both paused as Elias’ smile changed slightly.

“But… There _is_ a condition, Ren-kun.”

>>>

March 14, 2018 

Ren breathed sharply through pursed lips, his fists cutting through the air as he warmed up in Shinoda’s Gym. The place was empty this afternoon; Ren had asked for a favor from Coach Shinoda to ensure that no one else would be there. It hadn’t taken a lot of convincing; more than a few boxers had White Day dates planned.

“That’s time.” Ryuji called, hitting the button on the stopwatch. He sighed, shaking his head. “This is crazy, bro.”

Ren switched to dynamic stretches, rolling his neck, shoulders, and hips. “No arguments here.”

“The whole thing is.” Ryuji said. “First of all, you’re _eighteen._ Why are you proposing?! You don’t have to be engaged to ask Ann to move in with you!”

Ren switched back to some light combinations, firing off a 1-1-2 and 3-2-5 smoothly. “I know we don’t have to be. But I _want_ to be.”

“Man. You’re surprisingly traditional. Maybe it’s all the shoujo manga…”

Ren smiled wryly. “Probably.”

“But like I said, it’s not just the engagement thing. It’s _everything_. I can’t believe you’re going to fight Ann’s dad!” Ryuji said. “Talk about a lose-lose situation. He beats you, he wonders if his son-in-law is good enough. You beat him, and you’re some jerk who beat the crap out of some old man.”

Ren paused. He looked at Ryuji. “...Some old man… You haven’t met Elias Takamaki, have you?”

“No. Why would it matter? He’s gonna be _old_. You’re basically a pro boxer--”

“Ren-kun? Glad to see I’ve got the right place.”

The two former Phantom Thieves looked up. Silhouetted in the doorway was all 190 cm of Elias Takamaki, ex- _Utti Jaeger_ soldier and doting father to Ann.

Ren nodded politely to Elias. “Good afternoon, Elias-san.”

Ryuji’s eyes bulged, particularly when Elias doffed his coat and started warming up. He pulled Ren aside, hissing. “ _Dude_! He’s a fucking giant! And he’s punching like he’s a boxer!”

“That’s because he was. High-level collegiate. And he’s a former soldier.”

Ryuji performed a double take at Elias’ shadowboxing. He looked back at Ren. “ _Dude_. Are you sure I should be here? Don’t you want Kaname or Coach Shinoda to be your second? I mean…”

Ren shook his head. He put a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder with a confident smile. “No one else knows about this, Ryuji. Right now, I don’t want anyone but my best man to know.”

“RenRen…” Ryuji said, starting to smile back at Ren. “Heh. Well, if you put it that way--”

“Are you two going to hug it out, or are we going to fight?” Elias said, with a little grin.

Ren smirked slightly. He motioned to the ring. “After you, Elias-san.”

Elias climbed into the ring, followed by Ren and Ryuji.

Ren and Elias put on their headgear and touched gloves. Ren nodded. “One round, three knockdown base?”

Elias nodded. “Standard amateur rules. What’s your weight, Ren-kun?”

“Sixty-six.” Ren replied. He was close to the limit for welterweight. “You?”

“Ninety.” Elias said. He was at cruiserweight. “If you like, I can take it easy on you.”

“Don’t do me any favors.” Ren shot a challenging grin at Ann’s father.

Ryuji stepped out of the ring, walking over to the bell. He raised his hand to ring it.

“What the _hell_ is going on here?!”

All three men turned to the door. All three men cringed at the sight of Ann Takamaki. She stood in the doorway, carrying her gym bag. She stared incredulously at her father and boyfriend.

“Ah, crap.” Ren smiled sheepishly, a gloved hand behind his neck. “Hey, Songbird. Uh… What are you doing here?”

“I came to work out, since you had ‘something important to do’.” Ann stalked over and climbed into the ring, poking a finger into Ren’s chest. “I can’t believe you’re flaking out on our White Day date to fight Daddy!”

Ren looked over at Elias for help.

There was no help to be had. Elias sighed, nodding seriously. “Honestly, Ren-kun. If you had told me that you and Kei-chan had something planned, we could have rescheduled.”

“Betrayal!” Ren hissed.

Ann whirled. She stood in front of her father, her hands on her hips. “And _you_. Really, Daddy?! I thought you and Ren got along!”

Elias raised his hands placatingly. “Sorry, Kei-chan. Really, we do. I wouldn’t have asked him to do this otherwise. After watching the footage of his Winter Cup bout, I selfishly asked him to let me relive my college days a little.”

Ann looked at Ren. “Seriously?”

“Aheh… Yeah.” Ren said. He thought quickly, careful to avoid lying to the girl who read him like a book. “This is really important to your father and I.”

Ann rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in the air. She grumbled as she took Ren’s hands, grumpily tightening up the laces on his gloves. “I can see you two are solved, so at least get it done quickly and carefully so neither of you get hurt. So we can go out after, like we actually planned.”

Ren smiled. “Thanks, Songbird.”

“You’d _better_ thank me. The two most important men in my life, beating the crap out of each other. I can’t believe this is how you want to spend your White Day--”

“Hey! Ba _-keiki_ -mono! Shouldn’t you be in my corner? Ren-kun already has Sakamoto-kun.”

Ryuji burst out laughing at the nickname. “ _What_ did your dad just call you?!”

Ann flinched, turning to glare at her father. She then looked back at Ren, her expression dark. “Don’t come back to this corner unless he’s dead. I have no father.”

Ren chuckled; he popped his mouthguard in. As he waited in his corner for the bell, he recalled his conversation with Elias, after the older man told him that his blessing was conditional.

>>>

March 3, 2018 

“But… There _is_ a condition, Ren-kun.” Elias said. “I want you to have a sparring match with you.”

Ren blinked. “You… want a sparring match? With me?”

“Elias, this is ridiculous. You love Ren-kun. Why are you doing this?” Erika protested.

“You’re a composed, reliable young man, Ren-kun. Any father would be happy to have you as a son-in-law. But I’m not _any_ father. And as you well know, Kei-chan isn’t _any_ girl. I want to see directly what you’re like under pressure. And you must know as well as I do that boxers can tell a lot more about each other in the ring than they can in conversation.”

“Ren-kun, you don’t have to--”

“I understand. Let’s do it, Elias-san.”

“...Ugh! Men. Kei-chan's going to kill you both if she finds out.”

>>>

March 14, 2018 

Elias smiled slightly to himself, facing his corner as he waited for the bell. Ren had good eyes when he agreed to the sparring match. Even better, today. Lively. Confident. He knew Ren would put up a good fight. Elias wasn’t unreasonable - even if he hadn’t boxed competitively in years, he stayed in good shape and outweighed the soon-to-be-pro by over twenty kilograms. A ‘good fight’ was probably all Elias could expect. It didn't really matter. Elias didn't need Ren to win in order to win his approval. He just wanted to have a good 'conversation' with his future son-in-law.

The bell rang; Elias turned. His eyes snapped wide open as he threw up his guard, barely in time.

_‘Voi paska!’_

Somehow, Ren was already well past the center of the ring and within striking distance. He buried Elias in flicker jabs, his glove snapping into Elias’ guard without pause.

_‘What the hell is this?! Is he Japanese Hearns--!’_

The older man winced as Ren seemed to read his mind, brute-forcing a chopping right past Elias’ guard and giving him a glancing blow against his headgear. It sent him stumbling back into a corner. Elias shook off the blow. This was nothing like the Winter Cup. Against Hayato Miyazawa, Ren was forceful, but there was still a high-level exchange of technique. This was sheer aggression.

Elias met Ren’s eyes as the boy - rather, young man - approached. His grey eyes were on fire. Elias smiled in anticipation, understanding immediately. While he hadn’t really _questioned_ Ren’s devotion to Ann, he was still _testing_ it. And his prospective son-in-law was determined to measure up. Ren shot in, continuing his onslaught of flicker jabs, chopping rights, and left hand smashes.

Elias eventually got used to the pace and sheer speed of Ren’s assault. His old habits returned as he adjusted to Ren’s pace and rhythm. He started parrying punches and turning his neck in time to lessen the impact of anything that slipped through. A cunning check hook took him out of the corner; the older man started using his feet as he slipped back into his old outboxing style. He used his height and reach advantage liberally, managing to put Ren on the defensive with crisp jabs and straights from further than the Japanese man could reach. Elias had the advantage for a few precious moments.

But Elias wasn’t the only one who made adjustments. Ren adapted quickly, turning his body slightly into the Philly Shell defense he had used so effectively in the Winter Cup. Punches rolled off his shoulder; deceptive feints and vicious counters shot back at Elias for every one of his punches. While the Finnish man threatened to knock Ren out with each of his cruiserweight punches, the lighter boxer demonstrated clearly that he couldn’t knock down that which he couldn’t hit. The fight shifted to a stalemate.

And then as Ren’s speed, anticipation, and sublime boxing sense fully asserted themselves, the stalemate ended.

Elias grimaced as a hard three-quarter hook struck him over his liver. The aptly named smash sent the older man stumbling to the left, where a chopping right nearly took off his head. Elias cursed, thudding back against a ring post.

Ren didn’t press the advantage, instead just coldly observing his opponent. As if he was asking if Elias had his answer yet.

Elias smiled. In response, he opened his stance slightly; he planted his feet. An invitation to brawl.

Ann sighed. “Daddy, Ren why would Ren give up his advantage--?!”

Ren shot in, grinning fiercely as he gave up his advantage. He took the invitation wholeheartedly as he poured on offense, driving hooks and uppercuts into Elias. Both fighters planted their feet as they exchanged blows, throwing footwork and defense to the wind. Elias’ fully-grown strength staggered Ren, but the young man kept coming back for more. A vicious uppercut to his body nearly made Elias spit out his mouthguard; a returning left hook opened a cut on Ren’s cheek.

The bell rang to end the match.

Both of them stood in the center of the ring, panting. Ren had his cut; Elias bled from his lip.

Ren delivered his punishment during the first part of the match. Elias delivered his message during the brawl. The two were more or less equally beaten up. The air remained tense as the two stared each other down.

Elias was the first to move, offering his fist. Ren smiled, pounding Elias’ gloved hand with his own. Elias suddenly pulled Ren into a one-armed embrace, the two combatants laughing. Elias said something quietly to Ren before Ann stomped into the ring.

“Why did you two turn that into a street fight?! Ryuji, can you get the first-aid kit?! Honestly…”

>>>

A short time later, Ren shut the lights off before they left the gym and locked up. Ryuji and Elias had already left. Ann sighed, looking at Ren. She took hold of his chin, turning his face to look at the bandage on his left cheek. “Hopefully that heals up before graduation, Wildcard. It’s not a bad cut, but it’s only four days away, remember?”

“I remember.” Ren said. He gave Ann his most charming grin. “Kiss it better?”

Ann rolled her eyes. She relented though, standing on her toes to kiss the bandage softly. She took his hand, walking with him towards the train station.

“What did he say to you after, anyway? When he hugged you.”

“Ah, nothing important. Just reminding me that we have a combined Takamaki-Amamiya family dinner the day after graduation.” Ren said.

Ann frowned, peering up at Ren. “...That’s a lie.”

Ren smiled. “Yep.”

“You can’t tell me?” Ann pouted.

“It’s a guy thing, Songbird.” Ren shrugged.

Ann rolled her eyes. “So something stupid. Honestly, you two… When my mom finds out what happened, she’s going to tear Daddy a new one. Really, I don’t know what possessed him to…”

As Ann muttered, Ren smiled, remembering Elias’ words.

_‘Nice fight… son.’_

>>>

March 18, 2018 

Ren sat in the auditorium of Shujin Academy, the red flower and white ribbon indicating his status as a graduating third year pinned to the left breast of his blazer. Sitting in of itself was strange. He and the rest of the graduating class had spent most of the assemblies at Shujin standing at attention. Now, on their last day as high school students, he and his fellows were afforded the privilege of sitting. It was probably a good thing, anyway. This way, his knees wouldn’t be shaking.

Ren shook his head, barely listening as the principal delivered his speech. After all, it was Ren’s turn next. Apparently, his reward for consistently topping the exam scores at Shujin Academy was giving one of the many speeches during the lengthy ceremony.

It was ridiculous. Ren had literally fought a god alongside his friends; he had boxed in front of a crowd of thousands at the Winter Cup.

But this still freaked him out. His parents were in the crowd. His eventual in-laws were here. Almost everyone he cared about in his young life was here. It was like his previous singing-related stagefright, but amplified several hundred times.

 _‘Who the hell am I to talk about where life goes on from here? Aren’t we all just teenagers?’_ Ren thought, as the principal’s speech drew to a close. He continued his internal dialogue. _‘Yeah, but you’re a teenager who asked for his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. Doesn’t that make you grown up?’_

The principal smiled at the crowd. “And next, I’d like to ask a member of our graduating class to speak. Ren Amamiya, the podium is yours.”

Ren remained frozen to his seat.

_‘Grown up? Please. You’re talking to yourself. The hell are you doing?! Stand up--’_

There was a loud snore from about halfway down the line of graduating students.

Ren blinked. He looked over, spotting Ryuji. His best friend was slumped halfway over onto his neighbor, his mouth hanging open.

“...Mnnn… can’t eat anymore…’

He dropped his diploma on the gym floor, which startled him awake. Laughter rippled across the graduating class as Ryuji scrambled for the hard-earned paper, falling out of his chair. It was enough to relax Ren a little.

Ren shook his head, chuckling as he took the stage and walked to the podium. Even in his sleep, Ryuji Sakamoto had Ren Amamiya’s back.

He nearly froze up again at the sea of eyes looking at him. Boxing was easier. People were looking at him then, too, but the threat of being punched in the face did wonderful things for one’s focus.

Someone coughed loudly. Ren’s keen eyes spotted Ann. She smiled at him; he instantly recalled her words from last night.

_‘Just be you, Wildcard. That’s all anyone expects. Just show us all that big, stray-collecting heart of yours. I love you, your friends love you, and your family loves you. We’ll all be there for you… Hehe. Besides. Don’t you always say just the right thing, Ren Amamiya?’_

Ren cleared his throat, and started speaking.

“Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming, thank you all for the honor of representing the graduating class, and thank you for staying awake to this point. Most of you.”

Laughter drowned out Ryuji’s ‘Hey!’.

Ren smiled. “I’m not sure what kind of wise words an eighteen year-old facepuncher can really send you all off with. At the end of the day, all I did was work hard and make the choices that I thought were best at the time.”

His eyes searched the crowd for his friends as he spoke.

“We were all told that high school is the time in our lives where we’re supposed to learn how to be adults. Where we learn the basic knowledge and skills that will help us be productive members of society. Or at least, we're supposed to learn how to fake it well enough to buy a little more time.”

Ren hesitated. This was the part of the speech where he had to decide. Inoffensive cliches, or painful truth? He caught Shiho’s eye.

She nodded firmly to him.

It wasn’t a hard decision at all.

“But our class was different. Many of us were forced to grow up sooner. Much sooner, at the cost of our innocence.”

The silence became uncomfortable as the audience understood what Ren was referring to. Kamoshida. Kobayakawa. Shido.

“We all learned that there can be darkness in anyone’s heart - even in those that we are supposed to trust as our guardians; even in those that we are supposed to entrust our own future children to. But more than that, we learned about the darkness in our own hearts. We learned how putting our eyes down and ignoring the injustices around us hurts our own souls as surely as it hurts the victims.”

Ren paused again. He saw Kenji and Inoue Amamiya seated with the other families. Kenji was filming; Inoue dabbed at her eyes. The young boxer took a breath.

“...My family and I have personally experienced the pain brought about by unchecked ambition and greed. We’ve experienced being isolated by fear and prejudice. All of you know my story already - when I started here, I was the ‘violent criminal’ who punched people on the street for fun.”

He smiled wryly.

“And now I’m the graduating class representative. Who’s going to be punching people professionally.”

Some more laughter; partly for the joke, but also relief for the shift in tone.

“I don’t blame anyone here. The past is the past. Instead, I want to tell you two things. First, to borrow a wiser man’s words, ‘ _to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it’._ This is a lesson that we should all now know to the bone. I have faith in every one of you that you will strive to better yourselves and society. I have faith that none of you will ever turn a blind eye to wrongdoing because ‘it doesn’t involve you’ or ‘it would be too much trouble.’”

Ren smiled, looking at each of his friends in turn, before settling on Ann.

“The second thing I want to tell you is that there’s always hope. What started off as the worst year of my life turned into the crucible where I learned what true friendship was. Where I found the steel in my soul and the love of my life.”

The audience tittered again, this time with a few higher pitched squeals as the people around Ann nudged and teased the blushing model.

“Because I came to Tokyo, I learned more than I could have ever imagined. I learned that heroes don’t always come from the places we expect; I learned that even if you rebel against society, so long as you stick to your heart’s ideals, things will work out. So long as you have faith in your loved ones; so long as you continue to hope.”

“I… I want to thank everyone here.” Ren said, coughing again to clear his throat and push the tremble away from his voice. “When I came here, I thought I had lost everything. Instead, I found a family that restored my faith; I found reason to hope. I… ...Thank you.”

>>>

Ren and his classmates left the Shujin auditorium for the last time as students, ending the ceremony. They milled about outside, waiting for their families and friends to exit as well. Ren looked up at the sky.

_‘Hm. Looks like rain. Hopefully not for a little while longer, though--’_

He ‘oofed’ as Ann caromed into his chest and tried to squeeze the life out of him.

Ann smiled up at him through her tears.

“Wildcard… You did _so_ good. But did you have to embarrass me like that?”

“You know I did.” Ren chuckled, wiping away a tear with his thumb. “How could I not?”

The remainder of the Phantom Thieves gathered up. Seemingly endless pictures were taken, especially as the ‘extended’ family joined them. The boxing, volleyball, and track teams; Ryoichi and his band, and many more.

“Ah! Ren! Ann-chan!”

“Ren-kun! Kei-chan!”

Ren and Ann looked up happily at the voices of their respective mothers. Inoue and Erika approached, each of them glowing with pride.

“Congratulations!” Inoue hugged Ann. “I’m so proud of you all.”

“That was a wonderful speech, Ren-kun.” Erika smiled. 

“Thanks, Erika-san. ...Oh. Where’s Elias-san?” Ren asked. “He made it, didn’t he?”

Erika nodded. “He’s just buying bouquets for the girls from one of the vendors that set up in the courtyard.”

Inoue blinked. “Oh, really? Ken-san wanted to do the same. He should be along shortly…”

Erika perked up. “Ah! There’s Elias. No bouquets, though…”

Ann frowned. “Hm. Daddy looks annoyed, too.”

Elias shook his head, muttering in Finnish. “Sorry, _kulta_ . Some rude hayseed cut in front of me and bought the last two. And on top of that, he wasted my time by insisting on _haggling_. Who does that in the city? At a high school graduation ceremony, no less?”

Ren blinked. He had a sinking feeling at the word ‘haggling’. “Elias-san… What did this ‘hayseed’ look like…?”

Elias turned to Ren. “Hm? Oh. Funny that you should ask. He looked a little like you. But the whole situation was oddly familiar—“

“Inoue-chan, kid! Sorry I got held up!” Kenji Amamiya approached, carrying two bouquets. He handed the first one to Shiho as he ranted. “You won’t believe what happened. I was minding my own business, getting a great deal for the flowers, when some giant foreigner walks up and accuses me of cutting in front of him in line! And then he tried to outbid me on the flowers! And then to top it off, he stormed off before closing the deal. My negotiations were _completely_ derailed, and I ended up paying full price. Kenji Amamiya doesn’t pay full price for anything! This is--...”

As Kenji handed the second bouquet to Ann, his eyes landed on Elias.

Elias’ jaw dropped. “...The hayseed. Ren-kun, don’t tell me…”

“Ann-chan, is this your…” Kenji’s eyes widened. “Er, look. This is all a misunderstanding, Takamaki-san. I…” Kenji trailed off. Recognition flashed across his face. “...Wait. We’ve done something like this before, haven’t we? Just _looking_ at you pisses me off…”

Elias frowned. “I know. It’s like we’ve been here before. And when I look at you, I get this irrational urge to…” He glared at Kenji.

Kenji returned the stare. “This urge to _what_?”

“...To get rid of a _minor annoyance_.” Elias cracked his knuckles.

Kenji rolled his neck and shoulders. “A minor annoyance? Looks like I need to teach someone some _manners_.”

Inoue blinked, recollection lighting up her expression. She socked her fist into her palm. “The aquarium!”

“What do you mean, Inoue-san?” Erika asked, watching in a mix of embarrassment and fascination as their husbands glowered at each other. “Which aquarium?”

“When Ren was little, we took him to the aquarium in Minato! We weren’t there for very long, though. We were in that little play area when I got a text from Ken-san, saying almost those exact words. That he had to ‘teach someone some manners’.”

Erika gasped. “Wait. Wait, Maxell Aquarium? We took Kei-chan there just a little before we moved to America. That was over a decade ago... I forgot my phone in the car, so I left Kei-chan with Bachan. When I got back, Elias was being thrown out of the gift shop’s north exit--”

“--And Ken-san was being escorted out of the south entrance. I never got a look at _who_ he was fighting with.”

“I can’t believe we were there at the same time!” Erika exclaimed. She turned to Ren and Ann, who were still eyeing their fathers worriedly. The two men looked like bristling dogs. “Did you two know about this?!”

Ann smiled sheepishly; Ren chuckled.

“Ah… Yeah, Mom.” Ann said. “We learned that we met when we were little.”

“And you didn’t tell us!?” Inoue smacked Ren’s arm. “But it’s such a wonderfully cute coincidence!”

Ren smiled. “It never came up. And we wanted to be a little selfish and keep it to ourselves.”

Erika sighed. “Ah, young love.”

Ann frowned, looking over at Elias and Kenji. “So… That ‘silly disagreement’ that Bachan told me about… Daddy got into a fight with Ren’s dad?!”

Elias scoffed. “It was _hardly_ a fight. This _bumpkin_ didn’t stand a chance--”

“Shut it! I kicked your ass, you conceited donkey!” Kenji stabbed a finger at Elias like it was a sword.

“That’s not how I remember it. I made you pay for that stunt you pulled with that coupon.” Elias sneered. He rolled up his sleeves.

“What stunt? It’s not _my_ fault you can’t negotiate worth a damn, you old bastard.” Kenji growled. He took off his jacket. “We’re settling this _right now_.”

Ann’s eyes widened. She looked at Ren. “Ne, Wildcard. Shouldn’t we stop this? This is starting to look serious.”

Ren shook his head. “There’s no way they’d actually throw down. Oya-ji isn’t _that_ crazy.”

“And Daddy isn’t stupid…” Ann sighed. “It really looks like they’re just barking at each other.”

Neither man seemed willing to make the first move beyond posturing and insults.

“Yeah. Kaa-chan, why don’t you grab Oya-ji? I’ll help Erika-san with Elias-san--”

“Amamiya-senpai! Amamiya-senpai!”

Kaoru ran by, bumping into Kenji’s back. The Amamiya patriarch stumbled forward towards Elias with a startled curse.

Elias reacted instantly, his left jab shooting at Kenji’s face with unerring precision. His spar with Ren had really helped knock the rust off his skills. He smirked as the untelegraphed punch impacted Kenji’s cheek. But something felt off.

Kenji turned his neck perfectly. After years of brawling with his son, he could take a straightforward punch effortlessly. Continuing his forward momentum, he slipped around Elias. In a braced squat, he locked his arms around the surprised Finn’s waist.

“Amamiya-Ryu no Ougi!” Kenji yelled.

“Oya-ji, not the--”

“TRIPLE S!”

Ren winced as Kenji effortlessly hoisted the larger man into the air with a perfectly timed back-bridge, slamming his shoulders into the ground behind them. A textbook German Suplex.

“Triple S…?” Ann asked.

Ren sighed, shaking his head. The boxer had never looked more embarrassed. “It stands for ‘Special Sale Suplex’. And no, ‘Amamiya-Ryu’ pro-wrestling doesn’t actually exist.” He started to walk towards Kenji and Elias; he motioned to Ryuji, who had been watching Kenji’s finishing move with undisguised admiration. “Ryuji, give me a hand--”

“Amamiya-senpai!” Kaoru stood in front of Ren, instantly closing the distance and somehow getting within Ren’s guard.

Ren blinked; he recoiled as ‘infatuated kouhai’ intensified. Kaoru was staring up at him with sparkles in his eyes; his hands were clasped in front of him.

“Er, Kaoru? W… what can I do for you…?”

“Your tie! Let me have your tie!”

“What?!” Ren took another step back. Kaoru advanced a step forward.

“Oh! And the second button from your blazer! And your bag--Ouch!”

- _THWACK-_

Kaoru dropped into a crouch, wincing as he covered the top of his head. Kaname stood behind Kaoru, wielding her shinai.

“Sorry, Renpai. After your speech, he completely lost control. I’ll take care of this…” Kaname said.

Ren sighed. “Thanks, Kana-chan.”

“...In exchange for your tie, _all_ your buttons, and the suspenders sitting in your bottom drawer that you never used.” Kaname finished, beaming up at him.

Ren shook his head. “Kana-chan, I… ...how did you know about the suspenders?”

Ann giggled. “Looks like you have some tough choices to make, Wildcard. I can’t imagine those two are your only fans--”

“TAKAMAKI-SENPAAAAII!”

“Uwah!?”

Ann and Ren turned. A veritable stampede of underclassmen barreled across the grounds outside the auditorium towards Ann, all clamoring over themselves for her bow tie, blazer buttons, and/or suspenders. Her eyes widened. She tensed, preparing to run.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

Ann breathed a sigh of relief as Shiho and Futaba stood in the way, their hands up.

“Thank God. Shiho, you’re a real lifesaver--”

“The bidding starts at two-thousand yen!” Shiho called. “Gremlin, are we set up to track bids?”

“Mmhm! Good to go, Troll-in-Chief!” Futaba saluted.

Ren and Ann stared at the chaos unfolding in front of them. Kaoru was still staring at Ren with sparkly-shoujo hope in his eyes. Kaname was shaking her boyfriend by the collar, brandishing her shinai. Shiho and Futaba were barely keeping an increasingly rowdy crowd of admirers in check. Elias nailed Kenji with a vicious 1-1-2-3-2 combination that staggered the smaller Japanese man… who immediately countered with a brutally hard shoulder block charge delivered to Elias’ midsection. The ‘Spear’ popularized by Goldberg sent both men tumbling into some bushes, where the battle continued.

“I… I have no words.” Ren said, shaking his head.

“Y-yeah…” Ann mumbled.

“Ren-kun? Kei-chan?” Erika caught the couple’s attention.

Inoue stood beside her, casually screwing together what looked like a collapsible naginata. “You two should go. We’ll handle this.”

Ren frowned. “Are you sure? I haven’t seen Oya-ji fired up like this in a while…”

“Same with Daddy.” Ann said.

There was a polite cough behind Ren and Ann. They turned.

Bachan stood there, holding the infamous type of bamboo feather duster that terrorized countless naughty Asian children all over the world. Of course, the (normally) kindly old woman held the duster by the feather end, blatantly revealing the cruel instrument’s true identity as a bamboo switch with a comfortable feather grip.

“We’re sure.” Bachan said. She smiled at Ren and Ann.

Ren and Ann exchanged glances. Ren took her hand; Ann flashed a mischievous grin at him.

“Ready, Songbird?”

“Let’s go, Wildcard!”

The two took off at a sprint.

Shiho turned. She gasped. “They’re running! Wait! Wait, guys! The bidding’s already up to twenty-thousand yen! I’ll cut you in! Ten percent-- bah, fifteen! Come on--whoa!”

Shiho and Futaba were barely saved from being trampled by Ryoichi and Sojiro.

Laughing breathlessly, running hand in hand, Ren and Ann leapt through the gates of Shujin Academy for the last time.

>>>

Losing their pursuers amidst the streets of Aoyama was an easy task for the two former thieves. Ren squeezed Ann’s hand as they walked towards the train station.

“Hell of a finish, Songbird.”

Ann shook her head with a helpless little laugh. “Do you think everything’s going to work out?”

“I think so. Kaa-chan’s a force of nature with her naginata…”

“Why _does_ she carry that thing around with her, anyway?”

Ren’s expression became flat. “Let’s just say the aquarium incident wasn’t the first or last ‘disagreement’ that cheap old bastard’s been involved in. Speaking of which, where did Bachan get that feather duster from?”

Ann shook her head. “I… I honestly don’t know. I think it just appears to her in times of need.”

They both recalled the look of the grandmotherly woman clutching the duster in her hand. Her _sakki_ had been palpable.

They both shivered. Ann sighed, bumping lightly into Ren as they walked.

“...Wildcard?”

“Hm?”

“...Do you think _everything’s_ going to work out?”

Ren came to a stop, turning to face Ann. He smiled softly, stroking her cheek. “Definitely. As long as we have each other--”

A fat droplet of rain landed on the back of his hand. It was the only warning before the sky opened up into a downpour.

“Ah, crap!”

“Shit!”

The two ran for the nearest awning. Ren shook off his blazer and combed his fingers through his damp hair. The rainfall intensified; the white noise of the water striking the concrete created a little world for Ann and Ren alone in this three metre wide awning. Ren smiled to himself; it felt incredibly nostalgic.

“Seriously… My hair’s going to be a mess. I don’t know why I didn’t bring an umbrella. The forecast even…”

Ren looked over his shoulder. He blinked; he started laughing.

“Ren? What’s so funny?”

Ren just pointed at the gold lettering fixed to the concrete wall beside the door to the shop.

“... _Jeunesse et Beaut._ This… this is…”

“This is kismet, isn’t it?” Ren said.

Ann giggled softly. She looked up at Ren, closing the short distance between them. This time, instead of turning back to the rain out of self-consciousness, she just immersed herself in him. In the sight of him, as his grey eyes sparkled for her. In the solid feel of him, as he pulled her into an embrace, making her feel so safe. In the heat of him as he kissed her, the touch sending now-familiar tingles and thrills up and down her spine.

After the kiss, they stood close, their foreheads pressed together, their fingers entwined. Ann smiled.

“...Imagine if our first meeting went that way?”

“Sometimes I do.” Ren said. He kissed her again, softly. “But I can’t complain about how things worked out. Even with all the hardship.”

“Makes this seem all the sweeter, doesn’t it…?” Ann stood up on her toes to kiss him again.

A loud rattle, the honk of a car horn, and the gunshot sound of an engine backfire broke their reverie. A beaten-up Toyota LiteAce van pulled up beside the storefront; with muffled curses, someone inside the vehicle struggled to open the sliding door. Eventually, the thing slammed open, revealing the smiling faces of the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji grinned.

“Hey, lovebirds! Want a lift? We’ve got a party to get to! Or y’know, if you’d rather keep _making out in public,_ we can always leave you.”

Ren shrugged.

Ann stuck out her tongue at Ryuji; she then grabbed Ren’s lapels, pulling him in for one more deep, shamelessly passionate kiss in full defiance of the teasing and catcalls from their friends. She then grabbed Ren’s hand, the two of them darting through the rain and into the van.

“Come on, Wildcard!”

Shiho grunted, forcing the sliding door closed. She grinned at Ren. “Sorry to wreck your fairytale ending there, Champ. But we weren’t about to start celebrating without the two of you.”

Ren shrugged. He glanced at Ann; she was fully occupied in watching the footage of the fight that Ryuji had recorded. Ren lowered his voice as he spoke with Shiho. “It’s fine. There’s one more thing I need to do before it’s really a fairytale ending, anyway.”

Shiho caught onto his shift in tone. She raised her eyebrow. “Oh…? Is this something _I_ need to know about?”

“Funny you should ask. You see…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole mess was a _lot_ of fun to write. The basis for a good chunk of this comes from the last bit of 'epilogue' material I had written up before starting Going the Distance proper. A few notes/things to unpack.
> 
> Yuka/Mayu - I felt bad with how things ended with them. As GtD:XR is already unrealistically sweet/rosy, I didn't see the harm in having them make amends.
> 
> Chocolates/Locker scene - Ryuji is faithful, don't worry. Like I've said in GtD notes, he's that friend of yours who gets suuuper enthusiastic/amped up about things. He's pumped about getting chocolate not because he's into other girls. It's just the first time it's ever happened for the guy.
> 
> I tried writing the kiritsu/rei/arigatou gozaimashita thing entirely in English at first, but it loses something. At least for me - takes me back to my martial arts days a bit.
> 
> Things around the proposal. Ren and Ann are _way_ too young to be married. But Ren wants them to move in together. And he is surprisingly traditional about that sort of thing - he thinks they should at least be engaged. Also, Ren understands that if he wants to stay on Elias' good side, a proper engagement before this sort of thing is a necessity. The box of sweets/pastries is a traditional thing; basic idea is not showing up to the door empty-handed before asking for their daughter's hand. 
> 
> As for the sparring match itself, please forgive the highly unrealistic result. The huge weight discrepancy is hard to overcome. That being said, Ren *is* getting into his adult physique, and at this point has already passed the pro boxer exam. Elias is in good shape, but is in his 40's and hasn't boxed competitively in a while. *shrugs*
> 
> Kenji v Elias: I had this in mind the day that I solidified who their parents were, haha. I wrote 'You Only Get One' with this exact scenario in mind. The incident will be fully explained. As well as the coupon.
> 
> Coupon is a reference to the Family Guy chicken fights.
> 
> Giving up blazer buttons/ties/etc - Something of a trope/tradition where underclassmen ask for a keepsake from admired senpai who are moving on. Ann and Ren escape with their uniforms largely intact. After all, they both feel the best place for their uniforms is in each other's possession. ...Or on the bedroom floor. Zing.
> 
> Full disclosure, I'm officially getting to the end of my pre-existing notes for this AU. Not a huge loss. The large part of GtD:XR has been more off-the-cuff anyway, particularly as I've expanded more on the other relationships in this. My original notes were even more ShuAnn centric than the current incarnation; RyuKoto is barely mentioned, and Kaname/Kaoru are basically cardboard cutouts of characters. It's amazing to read the old stuff I have and see where this has all gone.
> 
> I think that GtD:XR probably ends after next chapter. Not the AU, mind you - there's still more that I want to do. But I think if I write Ren's college years/pro boxing career, I want to do it in a more story-driven format. I want to get back to fancy chapter titles/allusions, big battles and drama. But that means I need to outline and draft, write and re-write. Will try to end GtD:XR in a way that leaves me (and everyone reading) satisfied. As I've said both in A/N and discord before, my original notes peter off/lose steam after college starts. The drive disappears. I need to make sure that doesn't happen before I start in on it.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's otter chaos at the Takamaki-Amamiya family dinner. Ren loves Ann like no otter, but will Elias and Kenji's feud force them to sea otter people? Things get pretty hairy in this chapter of GTD:XR.
> 
> #sorrynotsorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Weapon of ass destruction': Not a typo.
> 
> bonbon: Type of candy. But in Japanese, derisive term for rich guy who doesn't do much without the help of others/doesn't know how the world works
> 
> onna-bugeisha: Female martial artist. Members of the samurai class in feudal Japan, trained in the use of weapons to protect their household/family/honour. 
> 
> Paska: Finnish for 'shit'
> 
> Conditional sparring: Sparring in boxing with a specific set of conditions aimed at achieving a specific training objective. IE, one boxer repeatedly uses a certain combination so the other boxer can learn how to counter, or both boxers use jabs only to practice jabs, or one boxer just parries/blocks, etc. Different from just going all-out in order to win.
> 
> 'Three knockdown base': If you're knocked down three times in a round, then the match is considered over via technical knockout.
> 
> Sixteen ounce gloves: Glove weights typically range from 8 to 16. Heavier gloves = more padding = punches don't hurt as much
> 
> gasshuku: Training camp
> 
> aniki: Shou/Eiji still call Ren this from the days when they were part of Yamada's gang (thus Ren's gang).
> 
> anesan: Their name/honorific for the boss' woman (Ann XD )
> 
> silver fox: Attractive older man

March 26, 2004 

It was Sunday during spring break, and as usual, the Maxell Aqua Park in Shinagawa was bustling with activity. The place was crowded with couples and families, all there to take in the sights of Tokyo’s beautiful, state-of-the-art aquarium. There were even enough tourists around that Elias Takamaki didn’t stick out as much as he normally did, despite his height and blonde hair.

The Finnish-Japanese man was alone for the moment. Bachan was looking after Ann in a children’s play area while Erika went back to the car to retrieve her phone. It was the perfect opportunity for the doting father to pick out a present for his daughter. Even under normal circumstances he liked to spoil her; the guilt he felt about uprooting his little girl and taking her to America made him want to do it even more.

Elias paused, smiling slightly as he looked up at a sign posted in the gift shop.

‘ _OLLIE THE OTTER LIMITED EDITION GIFT SET! PLUSH TOY AND SPECIAL CHOCOLATES! LINE UP STARTS HERE’_

And he had just the gift in mind. The otter really was adorable. And Elias’ beloved Kei-chan would of course love the sweets. He headed for the line-up.

“Oops! Crap!”

Elias watched as a Japanese man with black hair and grey eyes juggled his purchases, trying not to drop one of his many shopping bags on the ground. He stumbled right towards Elias.

“Ah! Careful, sir.” Elias said politely, helping to steady the man and arrange his bags.

Kenji Amamiya smiled sheepishly. “Heh… Thanks. Sorry.”

Elias eyed the array of shopping bags. “That’s a lot of souvenirs.”

Kenji grinned. “Great deals, though! They have an entire clearance section. I’m set for Christmas and the next few birthdays!”

Elias blinked, taken aback by Kenji’s broad grin and easygoing nature. Most people were a bit thrown off by Elias’ height and looks, but this man didn’t seem to care a bit. Elias smiled. He found himself liking this stranger immediately.

“You’re buying for your family, then?”

“Heh. Yeah. Wife, kid, and a few nieces and nephews. Just one more thing to go, though.” Kenji stepped into line behind Elias. “My son really loves otters.”

“Ah. Yes, ‘Ollie the Otter’ is quite popular…” Elias replied. “He’s one of the reasons my daughter was looking forward to today.”

The two men chatted amicably as the line proceeded forward. Just before they reached the counter, Kenji caught Elias’ arm. He smiled, holding out a slip of paper.

“Here. As thanks for helping me with my bags.”

Elias took the slip. “Hm. ‘Redeem for Ollie the Otter Gift Set’... Oh! A coupon for the gift set? I wasn’t even aware this was an option. Don’t you need it, though?”

Kenji shook his head, waving another slip of paper. “Ah, I’ve got mine. Why pay for something at full price when you can avoid it, right?”

Elias nodded with a grateful smile. “Heh. Wise words.” He frowned. “Are you sure this will work, though? I can see that this is an official voucher, but I can’t believe that they’d let such a popular item go for something like this.”

Kenji grinned, winking at Elias. “It’ll be fine. You just need to sweet-talk the clerk a little.”

One of the three clerks behind the counter waved. “Next three, please!”

Elias, Kenji, and one other customer stepped up to the counter. Elias smiled politely to his clerk, handing over the coupon. “One, please.”

The clerk took the slip of paper. To Elias’ surprise, the man frowned; he looked carefully at the coupon, and then shook his head. “Sorry, sir. This expired yesterday. I can’t accept this.”

“...What? There must be some mistake. I just got this from…”

Elias looked over at Kenji. The Japanese man was smiling, chatting away with the clerk behind the counter. That same clerk nodded, taking the coupon as she reached under the counter for one of the much sought-after gift sets. Kenji caught Elias’ eye.

He winked again.

Elias glared at Kenji. He should have known there was a reason why this stranger had been so friendly to him. “...Bastard _!_ ”

“Sir?” The clerk asked.

Elias took out his wallet. “I’ll just pay the full price, forget the coupon--”

The clerk nodded. He checked under the counter as the third customer walked away with an Ollie gift set. Kenji was still talking to his clerk.

“Ah… Sorry, sir. That man’s about to purchase the last one.” Elias’ clerk said apologetically, nodding at Kenji. “I can show you some other Ollie toys if you like-- Sir? Sir!”

Elias’ hand snatched Kenji’s coupon off the counter. “So _that’s_ what your game is, hayseed!”

“What?! Who’s a hayseed? And what game?!” Kenji asked. Elias rolled his eyes. The shock on Kenji’s face almost looked sincere.

“You gave me an expired coupon to make sure you’d get the last one!” Elias yelled. He waved Kenji’s coupon in the air. “I bet this one’s still good though, isn’t it? You’re not only conniving, but _cheap_.”

“Wait. Expired?” The clerk in front of Kenji stood back up, leaving the gift set under the counter. She took the coupon from Elias, looking at it more carefully.

Kenji’s eyes widened. “W-w-wait, hold on just a second there. No need to look at the date, you can barely see it anyhow--”

The clerk frowned. “I can’t accept this, sir. This one also expired yesterday.”

“Oh, really?” Kenji feigned innocence. “Maybe we can work something out? I mean, it just expired _yesterday_. That’s less than eight hours ago. Maybe… half off?”

Elias rolled his eyes. “I’ll buy it. Full price.”

“H-hey! You can’t just barge in, flashing your wallet around like that!” Kenji protested.

“Why shouldn’t I? You’re trying to cheat your way into getting a children’s toy for _free_! Don’t you have any dignity?!”

“Tch. You just forced your way into negotiations that were already underway for the same toy, and you want to talk about dignity? Besides, I said _half-off_ . So you’re not only a conceited snob, but you’re also deaf!” Kenji reached into his pocket, taking out his wallet. “As much as it pains me, _I’ll_ be the one buying this. At a fifty percent markup, if that’s what it takes!”

Elias bristled. “Then I’ll pay _double_!”

“Triple!” Kenji shot back.

“Sir. Sir!” The clerk waved her hands. “We’re not selling to _either_ of you. That young lady over there just bought the last one while you were arguing…”

Kenji and Elias turned just in time to see a young woman, maybe high school aged, leave the gift shop. Her long dark blue ponytail trailed behind her.

“Well. Great job.” Kenji said, grumbling. He turned away from the counter.

Elias rolled his eyes. “It’s your own fault. Trying to pass a bad coupon, then haggling at a gift shop in the aquarium… Who even does that? I can’t even imagine what kind of sad backwater you and your family crawled out of.”

Kenji put his bags down, clenching his fists. His eyes flashed at Elias’ mention of his family. “I’ll have you know that I run a _successful_ inn just an hour south of here. Personally, _I_ can’t imagine why someone so high and mighty like yourself would deign to visit the aquarium with the rest of us peasants. What? Did you get bored of making homeless people fight over sandwiches? Or are you just trying to do something to shut up your spoiled brat of a daughter?”

Elias frowned. “That’s crossing a line, bumpkin.”

“You brought up family first, jackass.”

“I did. I was distracted trying to figure out what kind of ‘son’ would want an otter doll so clearly meant for girls. Like father, like son, I suppose.” Elias watched as Kenji took out his phone. “What are you doing? Were the words I used too big? You need to look something up?”

“No. Telling my wife that I need to teach someone some manners.”

>>>

March 19, 2018 

It was dinner time at the Takamaki home on Monday evening. Specifically, it was _dinner party_ time. The combined Amamiya-Takamaki post-graduation dinner party. Ren and Ann sat together on one side of the Western-style dining table. Inoue, Erika, and Bachan sat on the other side. And on either end, sat the respective family patriarchs. Elias and Kenji glowered at each other across the length of the live-edge teak table.

Erika looked at Kenji with a strained smile. “So, Kenji-san. How did you and Inoue-san meet?” She asked, trying something - anything - to break the awkward silence. It would be difficult. Awkward was probably as good as they were going to get. After all, both men sported multiple bandages. And sore backsides, particularly after Bachan had taken her bamboo switch to _both_ of them at the end of yesterday’s melee.

Kenji shifted uncomfortably on his chair. He grumbled sullenly. “I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business.”

“ _Ken-san_.” Inoue smiled at her husband. Although she smiled, her brown eyes remained horrifyingly cold and flat. Like those of a great white shark. Her collapsible naginata was fully assembled and leaning against the wall behind her.

Kenji gulped nervously. “Er… Well. It started with a fish, actually.”

“A fish?” Erika asked. Her smile now reflected genuine interest and gratitude at the shift in conversation.

Kenji smiled at the memory. “Yep. A fish. Inoue-chan was going to have a marriage interview, and her mother wanted to make some big fancy dinner. So she sent Inoue-chan down to the docks to buy tuna. At the time, I worked part-time at the docks.”

Inoue chuckled. “And then Ken-san threw a mackerel at me.”

“I wasn’t throwing it _at_ you, Inoue-chan! I was trying to pass it to my coworker! You stepped into the line of fire!”

“So it’s _my_ fault?”

“A little!” Kenji laughed. “Don’t feel too sorry for her, Erika-san. She interrupted my apology by demanding a discount on the tuna and the mackerel for free. We were engaged within two weeks, and married within the year.”

“That’s adorable! Isn’t it, Elias?” Erika said.

“Heh.” Elias shrugged his shoulders lightly.

Kenji frowned, glaring across at Elias. The big Finn was smirking. “Something _funny_ about that?”

“I was just thinking how both you and your wife are always looking for a good deal. Though, Inoue-san didn’t have to resort to trying to cheat you with an expired coupon.”

Kenji’s knuckles turned white on his butterknife. “I wasn’t trying to _cheat_ anyone. If you had kept your damn mouth shut, I could have--”

Bachan coughed loudly. While she didn’t raise it above the table, a light tap of bamboo on hardwood announced the presence of her featherduster, the weapon of ass destruction.

Both Kenji and Elias grimaced; both of them started to shift uncomfortably until they noticed the other man doing the same. They both scowled and stopped moving.

Inoue sighed. She looked at Ann. “Ann-chan, Ren mentioned that you had an excellent score on your entrance examination!”

Ann smiled. “Ren and I both studied really hard, Kaa-chan. And the reference books that Tou-san managed to find for us were really helpful--”

Elias’s fork clattered against his plate. “...Kei-chan. Who are you calling ‘Tou-san’...?”

Kenji slowly smirked at Elias. As usual, the expression looked remarkably like Ren’s snarky expression. And thus, it was incredibly infuriating. Elias’ eyes widened.

“You…” Elias growled.

Ren caught Elias’ look. He moved quickly to change the subject. “Ah, Elias-san! So, the three of you are headed to New York for the spring break, right? That sounds exciting. Didn’t you both go to NYU? That must have been--”

“YOU CAN’T HAVE HER! I won’t allow it!” Elias yelled, a vein bulging on his forehead.

“?!” Ren startled. For a moment, his heart sank - until he saw that Elias was focused directly on Kenji. He sighed.

“Tch. Like Ren would want a girl like that joining his family.” Kenji shot back. “I’d never allow it!”

Ann might have felt saddened by that, if it weren’t for the fact that Kenji was entirely focused on Elias. The model rolled her eyes.

Elias sneered. “You say that, but he was the one who came here asking for--”

- _SMASH-_

The sound of a wine bottle shattering on the hardwood floor interrupted Elias. Erika shot a glare at her husband before smiling tensely at Ren and Ann.

“Oh my, how clumsy of me!” Erika said. “Why don’t the two of you go to the store to buy another bottle? Ren-kun, they know us quite well there, so it shouldn’t be a problem that you’re underage and say it’s for me. Just tell them to call me if there’s a problem.”

Ren smiled at Ann. “Let’s go, Songbird.”

Before the two left, Ren turned to Erika, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ and shooting a glare at both Elias and Kenji.

After the door closed, Erika waited a few moments for the chime that announced the departure of the elevator. She then turned to Elias. She took a deep breath as she stood up. The woman really was like a palette-swapped version of her daughter; brunette instead of blonde; hazel eyes instead of ice blue. And she had the grace and maturity that Ann was only starting to come into. Well. She _usually_ had that grace and maturity.

“WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOU OAF?!” Erika screeched, her eyes wide and teeth bared. She leaned across the table, grabbing Elias by the collar and shaking the 190 cm Finnish ex-soldier like he was a rabbit in the jaws of a hungry (and angry) wolf. “Did you let Ren-kun punch the sense out of you during that idiotic sparring match?!”

Kenji snorted. “Haha! You fought my son? I bet you thought it was going to be easy, _bonbon-san_. I hope the kid socked you right in your ugly face--Geh!”

Kenji stared wide-eyed at the naginata blade that was digging into the space between his collarbones. Although it was a wooden practice blade, it was still solid oak - and quite pointy. Inoue had somehow grabbed the weapon from behind her and snapped it forward across the dinner table in a flash, without knocking over a single thing. A candle rocked gently back and forth before settling back into position. The petite woman held the large weapon with one hand; the candlelight reflected in her eyes was the only warmth there.

“In...Inoue-chan!” Kenji stammered. “You’re going to draw blood if you push any harder!” He couldn’t move. He was pinned between the weapon and the high-backed chair.

The Amamiya matriarch stared her husband down. She didn’t relent. If anything, the point of her weapon pushed in another millimetre. It was like the woman with the dazzling smile was a shadow of a memory. All that was left was this ruthless _onna-bugeisha_ , fully prepared to end her husband if it meant securing the happiness of her son.

“Apologize.” Her voice was nothing but cold command.

“F-fine! Inoue-chan, I’m so--Geh!”

Another millimetre. Without taking her eyes off her husband, she raised her free hand to point at Elias. The message was clear. It might have been a trick of the light, but Kenji could have sworn he saw the image of _Hachiman-shin_ , the God of War, hovering in the air behind his wife.

Kenji gulped. Or he would have, if the point of the naginata wasn’t preventing it.

“E...Elias-san. I’m sorry.” Kenji croaked.

“You’d better be, haysee--urk!”

Erika’s grip on his collar tightened. She raised her hand to deliver the mother of all slaps.

“...I’m sorry, Kenji-san.” Elias cringed.

Erika and Inoue relented. They sat back down. Inoue left her naginata leaning against the table this time. Bachan sat back down as well, already having cleaned up the shards of glass and wine from the floor.

“Honestly…” Bachan muttered. “You’d think that you two _children_ would have learned your lessons yesterday.”

Erika sighed. “I know, right? The switching you delivered to these idiots is probably already a legend in Shujin Academy’s history. How often do people see not one, but _two_ grown men draped over the lap of a sixty-something year old grandmother while she goes to town on their butts with a feather duster?”

Inoue shook her head. “You two don’t need to be friends, but can you _please_ agree to leave Ren and Ann-chan out of it? They’re very clearly in love with each other. Kenji and I married young - probably too young. I always wanted Ren to wait a little longer before proposing, but even I can’t stand in the way of those two.”

Erika nodded. “And Kei-chan goes to sleep every night wearing that promise ring, the one with the card suits engraved on it. I can’t imagine how happy she’ll be about that lovely engagement ring Ren-kun showed us.”

Kenji and Elias glowered at each other. They started to cross their arms obstinately until they realized the other man was doing the same thing. They both disgustedly lowered their arms, simultaneously clicking their tongues. Which caused a new round of angry glares.

Bachan coughed loudly. Her feather duster was now visibly in hand.

“...Fine.” Elias muttered.

“Agreed.” Kenji grumbled. A cunning smile spread across his lips. “It only makes sense, after all.”

“Ken-san…” Inoue warned.

“What? I’m just saying it makes sense. Ann-chan’s always _so_ happy to visit us at the inn, so it only makes sense that she’d be _desperate_ to join _our_ family.” Kenji shrugged.

Elias barked a short, derisive laugh. “Please. That son of yours _adores_ my Kei-chan. He’d do anything for her, and he _loves_ visiting us, too. It’s obvious that he wants to join _our_ family.”

“Well you can’t have him!” Kenji shouted, slamming his palms on the table as he stood up. “Ann-chan’s marrying the kid and joining OUR family, no matter WHAT you say!”

“Hah! Tough! Ren-kun’s marrying Kei-chan and joining OUR family, no matter what _YOU_ say!” Elias stood as well, jabbing a finger at Kenji.

Inoue facepalmed. “You two literally went from ‘I won’t allow it’ to ‘they’re getting married’. You’re literally saying the same thing.”

“They really are…” Erika sighed.

“IT’S TOTALLY DIFFERENT!” Both men shouted, looking at their wives. They blinked, they turned to each other again, continuing to yell in unison. “STOP COPYING ME! Copying you?! You’re copying me! THAT’S _IT_!”

Before Inoue could react, Kenji grabbed the basket of bread on the table and flung it at Elias. Elias snatched Inoue’s naginata, using it to smash the basket of bread out of the air.

There was a sudden, high-pitched gasp. Something hit the floor with a soft, wet sound.

Ann and Ren stood at the door. Ren held a fresh bottle of wine. Ann’s hands were empty. The cake she previously held was on the floor, along with the bread basket and assorted dinner rolls. While the box contained the majority of the mess, the cake within was clearly ruined. Chocolate frosting oozed out from the overturned box.

Ann stared down at the box wide-eyed. Her lower lip started to tremble. “I… I thought we could share this together… I thought it m-might help D-daddy and T-tou-san s-stop f-fighting…”

Many weapons had been brought to bear this evening. The Feather Duster of Ass Destruction. The (Practice) Naginata of Hachiman-shin. The Iron Grip of Erika. But not a single one of these weapons had anything on the tears flowing from Ann Takamaki’s beautiful eyes. 

“A...Ann-chan! We weren’t fighting, we were uh…” Kenji stammered for an excuse.

“Kei-chan, stop crying! Please! We were just…”

While it was true that the tears themselves could make a man fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness, the true threat wasn’t the drops of angelic sadness themselves. It was the devil they summoned.

“No.” The bottle of wine clunked down onto the kitchen island.

Both men blinked. They looked at Ren.

“ _Paska_ …” Elias said. The look on Ren’s face was similar to the way the young boxer looked during the sparring match. However, the expression was now devoid of any joy or life.

“Crap.” Kenji mumbled. Through all of their brawls, the two of them had always pulled punches, had always had _fun_ while they fought it out. This was different. Both men froze as Ren reached into his coat in the same manner one might withdraw a pistol. To their temporary relief, he took out his phone. Temporary, as the dark look on his face only intensified.

“K...Kid. What are you doing…?”

Ren smiled. Elias and Kenji recoiled at the mirthless expression.

“Calling in some favors.”

>>>

In the middle of the night, a jet black Mercedes Sprinter van roared up a mountain road. The all-wheel drive vehicle sent a spray of gravel into the air as it rounded a sharp corner. If there had been any witnesses on the abandoned service road, thuds and muffled curses would have been heard from the inside of the van as it made its way up Mount Mitake, the same mountain that the Phantom Thieves visited at their ‘training camp’ with Kaname.

The van came to a halt in the clearing that marked the literal end of the road. The driver’s side and passenger side doors opened as two shadowy figures exited the vehicle - one tall and imposing, the other short and lithe. It was almost pitch black in this area of the mountain park. The two walked around to the back of the van, opening the double-doors. The Mercedes’ interior lights came on and revealed the scene.

Kenji Amamiya and Elias Takamaki laid in the back of the van, hogtied with opaque black cloth bags over their heads. Looking down on them were Rui Tachibana and Kaname Takeda. Rui reached in, grabbing and unceremoniously dumping both men onto the ground behind the van. Kaname knelt down, removing the bags. She smiled pleasantly at Kenji.

“Tou-san! So nice to see you again. How’s Kaa-chan doing?”

Kenji thrashed helplessly against the ropes. “Kana-chan! Kana-chan, please! I’m sorry! Tell the kid I’m sorry--”

“Too late for that, Tou-san.” Kaname grinned, her eyes twinkling sadistically. After all, she thought of her former rival for Ren’s affections as a sister, and these two had thoughtlessly made her cry. And also, while Kaname had mellowed a _little_ , this sort of thing was still fun for her. “Renpai was pretty clear.”

Elias looked at Rui, his eyes wild. Somehow, Ren had called in the kind of backup that allowed the young boxer to effortlessly black bag two grown men despite the fact that Elias was an ex-soldier and Kenji was a decent fighter (Elias begrudgingly admitted). Elias wasn’t so far removed from his days in the _Utti Jaeger_ regiment that he wasn’t afraid. The mannerisms of this Rui Tachibana _screamed_ black ops.

“Please. Tachibana-san, is it? From one soldier to another--”

“--From one soldier to another, this is just the mission. Nothing personal.” Rui said, with finality. She reached into her pocket, withdrawing a folding knife. With a flick of the wrist, the black-oxide finished blade snapped out. Just a few millimetres of silvery steel gleamed in the dim light filtering out from the back of the van.

“Please! Please, no!” Kenji struggled, yelping in a pitch higher than he would have liked. “Please--...Huh?”

Rui knelt down, cutting the ropes off. Uncertainly, Kenji and Elias stood up.

Kaname spritely bounded forward, giving Kenji and Elias each a bottle of water and a flashlight. “Here you go!”

Elias frowned. “What’s this…?”

Kaname smiled. “Team building exercise! It was on short notice, but I think I managed to put something appropriately challenging together. Your mission is to get back home without any help beyond each other! Oh, and I wouldn’t take the service road if I were you.”

“Hmph. That’s it? Then I don’t need this idiot.” Elias said, rubbing his wrists. “I’ll be fine on my own--”

“Elias-san.” Kenji interrupted. His eyes were on Kaname. “...Kana-chan. Is this like that ‘special’ training camp you put together for the kid?”

“Mmmmmaybe.” Kaname giggled eerily.

Wordlessly, Kenji checked to make sure the flashlight actually worked.

It didn’t.

Kaname giggled again. “Ah, Tou-san! You caught me!” She handed over the batteries. “Here.”

Elias’ jaw dropped. This highschool girl was about to casually leave the two of them in the middle of pitch-black wilderness without a single source of light. He quickly regained his composure. “Ahem. Well-played. But still. I was in the service, and I’m no stranger to survival exercises. I don’t need _him_. I could handle this with one hand tied behind my back.”

Rui’s normally impassive face quirked into a crooked little smile.

“Funny you should mention that.”

>>>

Kenji and Elias watched wordlessly as the van started to pull away, leaving them behind in the darkness of the mountain forest. Kenji sighed.

“Just _had_ to open your big mouth, didn’t you, _bon_ -san?” Kenji grumbled.

“Oh, shut up.” Elias started to raise his right hand to rub his face. He grimaced, using his left instead. After all, he didn’t want Kenji’s hand anywhere near his face.

The two of them had been handcuffed together.

“This is all your fault, you know.” Kenji snapped.

“You’re the one who threw the bread!”

“You’re the one who batted it at Ann-chan! And you call yourself a father!”

“Look, you uncultured, cheap piece of-- ! The van’s stopping!”

Hope swelled in the hearts of both men. Perhaps this was a reprieve. An act of mercy. They ran to the driver’s side window, stumbling and clamoring over each other awkwardly due to the handcuffs. The power window whined as it rolled down. Their approach was forestalled by a soft thud of something into the dirt in front of them.

Rui’s folding knife stabbed into the ground. She looked out the window at the two.

“My colleague here has informed me that you _may_ encounter certain obstacles tonight that _might_ require having a weapon of some sort.” Rui said.

“...” Kenji and Elias had no words.

Kaname peered around Rui, smiling. “Ehehe. Sorry. Almost forgot. Silly me. Oh! But to make up for it, here’s a hint! Use the knife to carve something with longer range. Like a spear. It would be better if you could carve a machine gun, but beggars can’t be choosers and all that. Byeee~!”

The van roared away, showering the two men in gravel and dirt.

Kenji stooped down and collected the knife. He turned it over in his hands before looking at Elias.

“...You know, I’ve never seen the kid that angry before.”

Elias sighed. “And Kei-chan was very upset…”

The two fathers sat down for a moment on a large tree stump, the only remains of a massive, dying tree that had been safely cut down by the workers at Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. After a long silence, Elias spoke up.

“...Why _was_ that otter so popular, anyway?”

“I have _no_ idea.” Kenji said. “It was _otter_ ly ridiculous.”

Elias blinked. He looked at Kenji as a look of amazement and disgust crossed the Finnish-Japanese man’s face. Kenji grinned and winked, aiming a finger-gun at him with his free hand.

“Eh? Eeeeh? Get it? _Otterly_ ridiculous?”

“Stop… Just…”

“You see, it’s funny because instead of saying ‘utterly’--”

Elias burst out laughing. “You’re insane. You’re completely insane. You’ve been stranded in the middle of a mountain forest in the middle of the night with nothing more than two flashlights, two bottles of water, and a folding knife between us, and you’re making bad puns.”

“Don’t forget the handcuffs.”

Elias’ laughter continued; Kenji joined in. As they settled down, Elias sighed.

“To think this all started because of an expired coupon…” Elias muttered. “You know, Kenji-san. I don’t understand it. Your son is a fine young man. Inoue-san is an impressive woman. How does a man who uses such underhanded tricks have such a wonderful family? Handing a new friend an expired coupon so you could take the last gift set. I was shocked--”

“Wait. Wait, you didn’t know it was expired?!” Kenji asked, his eyes wide.

“Of course I didn’t.” Elias scoffed.

“Oh, no. I thought you _knew_. Especially after you asked me if I was sure the coupon would work!” Kenji exclaimed.

“...Are you serious?! Wait. That’s what you meant when you said I had to ‘sweet-talk’ the clerk…” Elias murmured.

“Well, yes! I couldn’t very well say out loud that the coupons were expired. The clerks were within earshot!”

Elias looked over at Kenji, shaking his head in disbelief. “All these years, I assumed you were some uncultured jerk trying to cheat both myself and the store!”

“And I assumed you were some snobby rich guy who got all pissed off because he couldn’t close the deal! I thought you were just taking it out on me!” Kenji laughed. This time, Elias joined him. The two of them gradually settled down. Kenji sighed.

“We… We really screwed up, didn’t we?”

“Indeed.” Elias said.

Kenji slowly raised his free hand in a fist. “Truce?”

Elias hesitated a moment, before tapping the man’s knuckles with his left. “Truce. Let’s get off this mountain and apologize to them properly.” He stood up and started walking for the service road - it would be the easiest and safest way to get back. “I don’t see why that girl - Kana-chan, was it? - said not to take the service road.”

Kenji frowned. “It’s hard to tell, with her. I haven’t personally been to any of her training camps, but the kid’s mentioned that with her, it’s usually eighty percent psychological warfare. The road’s probably fine-- Hey. Do you hear something…?-- Shit!”

Both men dove out of the way as a number of logs crashed down from the slope above the road - it was a collection of dead trees that had been culled by the park workers and set aside for later collection. The mess of timber and debris completely buried the service road, making it entirely impassable.

Elias and Kenji stared at the obliterated road in dismay.

“...Well. Psychological warfare is only effective if the targets believe there is the possibility of a real threat.” Elias mumbled. “Ren-kun knows some frightening people, doesn’t he?”

“Heh… Kid’s always been good at making friends.” Kenji chuckled weakly.

A wolf howled in the distance. Both men turned, shivering slightly.

“Er… Shall we?” Elias said.

“Sounds like we should. If I don’t make it, tell my wife that there’s a sale next week. She’ll know what I really mean.”

“That you love her?” Elias blinked in confusion.

“...Well, yes. But also that we’re almost out of rice flour, and buying it at full price from Sato-san is a rip-off.”

>>>

March 23, 2018 

“So they’ll make their flight, Renpai?” Kaname asked, standing alongside Ren as they supervised Shujin Boxing’s _gasshuku_ at the Takeda Boxing Gym in Kamakura.

“They will. In fact, I’ll be seeing them off tomorrow morning.” Ren said. “Oya-ji and Elias-san made it back home on Wednesday.”

Kaname smacked her shinai against a nearby heavy bag. “Hey! Kimura! Don’t think I can’t see you slacking!” She turned to Ren, frowning. “Really? We dropped them there on Monday night. They should have taken until Tuesday night at the latest with everything that I planned.”

Ren chuckled. “They took a detour. Apparently when they got back to the Takamaki residence on Wednesday, they reeked of booze. Elias-san was wearing a plastic samurai helmet, and Oya-ji had one of those toy Viking ones. I don’t know what happened, but apparently they’ve buried the hatchet.”

“Mission accomplished, then!” Kaname chirped, a cute smile on her face.

“Though, Oya-ji flinches every time someone says ‘bear’ around him. And Elias-san sleep-walks. ...Well. He sleep- _carves_ . Apparently his office is full of makeshift spears. Bachan’s livid. All of their wooden spoons are ruined.” Ren said. He looked at Kaname. “What exactly _did_ you do--”

“Mission. Accomplished.” Kaname repeated. “Iwai! Harder on the step-in!”

“Yes Coach!”

In the ring, Iwai tightened his guard and dashed in, hammering the hitting mitt held by Yuka. The girl yelped, stumbling back from the power of the blow. One of Shinji Takeda’s trainers stepped in, demonstrating to Yuka how to properly hold the mitt. Mayu stopped receiving punches from Shou to receive some instruction as well, while Kawakami diligently took notes on each boxer.

“Looks like everyone’s making some good progress.” Ren said. “It really feels like I’m leaving the club in good hands, Kana-chan. I’m proud of you.”

Kaname smiled. “Thanks, Renpai.”

“...Heh. Speaking of progress. How are things with Kaoru?”

“He’s doing well. Ever since I made him wear ankle weights for all of his training, he--”

Ren grinned. “Not what I meant.”

Kaname’s eyes widened. She turned carmine. “F-f-fine!”

Ren quietly considered Kaname. After a moment, he smiled softly.

“...Renpai? What are you thinking?”

“Not much. Just that there’s one last thing I should do as a member of Shujin Boxing.”

>>>

“Right! Next up!” Kaoru called, motioning from inside the ring. His previous partner bowed again to Kaoru.

“Thank you, Iwai-senpai!”

Kaoru tried not to flinch. Shujin Boxing had become popular enough that some of Shujin’s incoming first-years, who hadn’t even gone through the official opening ceremony yet, had gotten permission to start early and join in the club’s spring break training camp. That meant _technically_ , Kaoru was a ‘senpai’ to these keen beginners. Many of whom watched his every move. It was unsettling; since the start of the camp, Kaoru felt a bit off. He was barely managing to do a halfway decent job at the basic conditional sparring drills he was running them through.

At first, he had protested - after all, Shou and Eiji were the co-captains. And for this camp, Ren was still around. But Kaoru’s senpai had just smiled.

_‘This is part of your training too, Kaoru. You need to learn how to pass on the fist you’ve inherited.’_

That encouragement had helped. But imposter-syndrome had fully set in - he felt like a huge fake.

Kaoru frowned as no one else stepped in to replace the previous beginner. “Hey, who’s up next? I’m--...”

Ren stepped into the ring, wearing his gloves. No headgear. He nodded curtly to Kaoru as he shadowboxed to warm up.

“Er… Senpai?”

Instead of Ren, it was Shinji Takeda who spoke, his gravelly voice rumbling from where he leaned against the ring’s apron.

“Amamiya is your opponent, Greenhorn.”

“Oh. Alright.” Kaoru nodded, smiling. Ren must have picked up on his anxiety. “What are the conditions? Jabs only? Step-in practice? Oh! Or we could do the tire thing…?”

Ren just continued warming up. His grey eyes had taken on an appearance reminiscent to matte steel.

“...Senpai?”

“No conditions, Greenhorn. Full contact spar. Three knockdown base. Three rounds, if you make it that far.” Shinji said. “Kid’s wearing the sixteen ounce gloves, so it should make up for the weight difference a bit.”

“...?!” Kaoru’s jaw dropped. He had _never_ done that with Ren before. There was always some educational objective, some condition. Never full-out sparring. “Wh-what?! Kana-chan, is he serious?!”

Kaname climbed into the ring. She was focused enough that she ignored Iwai’s slip of the tongue. She removed his ankle and wrist weights before placing his headgear on for him. “Otou-san wouldn’t joke about something like this, Iwai. All out. Fight to win.”

“Against Amamiya-senpai!? I don’t have a chance! I can’t--”

“You can!” Kaname snapped. Still holding onto his headgear, she glared up at him. “Haven’t you been throwing everything into your training?! Don’t you have faith in the boxing my father-- ...That _I_ entrusted to you?!”

“...Kana-chan…” Kaoru murmured. He winced as she flicked his forehead, giving him a little smile.

“Manager Takeda. Give it everything you’ve got, Iwai.”

Kaoru and Ren approached the center of the ring from their respective corners, touching gloves. Kaoru looked for Ren’s usual encouraging smile before they sparred.

There was nothing but cold, serious focus. Not even the little hint of a smirk he used sometimes to irritate his opponents. Kaoru returned to his corner to wait for the bell.

 _‘Senpai’s really taking this seriously…’_ Kaoru thought. He glanced down at his feet, now free of the ankle weights he had been wearing not only for training, but for almost all the waking moments of his life since the Winter Cup. _‘But I’ve grown a lot! This is my chance to show him!’_

The bell rang. Kaoru turned and shot towards Ren - not like a cannonball, but like a fighter jet. He was already bobbing and weaving, already moving to avoid the jabs and overhand rights that he knew would come. The beginners watching gasped as the distance between the two fighters seemed to shrink.

- _CRACK-_

Kaoru’s head snapped back. The soon-to-be second year hadn’t even seen the punch that stopped him. But it could only have been Ren’s flicker jab, seeking and shooting him down like a guided missile. He shook it off; biting down on his mouthguard, he moved in on Ren again. Powerful jabs and hooks cut towards Ren, strong enough to stagger or even knock down the welterweight boxer despite their weight difference.

But Ren deftly danced away from the punches, darting in and out with perfect hit-and-away tactics that scored him point after point with whip-like flicker jabs and sharp cross-counters. Kaoru shook off each blow; he adjusted his footwork gradually to compensate for Ren’s clockwise circling. Eventually, he angled him off into a corner. With a determined grimace, Kaoru charged in.

A check hook caught him, sending him into the corner as Ren deftly exchanged places.

Exactly as Kaoru anticipated. He absorbed the left hook with his right guard and allowed himself to slam back into the ring post - only to immediately drop his hips and launch a leaping shovel hook at Ren. The Gazelle Punch. The blow struck Ren’s guard, knocking his hands up and away. Kaoru immediately moved to follow up - Ren couldn’t counter from that position.

The bell rang. Ren turned on his feet, heading back to his corner.

Kaoru panted and leaned back on the ropes in his corner. He opened his mouth, accepting the straw from the water bottle that Yuka offered. Kaname stood in front of him, dabbing at his face with a towel.

“Do you understand what Renpai was doing, Iwai?”

“He… He fought from the outside. Like Kobayashi.” Kaoru gasped. “He’s so fast!”

Kaname nodded. “That was Renpai before his year of probation. When he was focused on counter-punching and keeping away. It’s true that he’s fast, but you still managed to corner him! And you turned around a check hook!”

“I couldn’t take advantage of the opening, though.”

“It doesn’t matter. You caught up to that version of him.” Kaname said. She looked across the ring at Ren, who was being tended to by Shinji Takeda. “Next round, he’s probably going to show you the ‘Amamiya-senpai’ you fought alongside for most of the year. The technician he was before he ran into Miyazawa again.”

“So he won’t try as hard to stick to the outside, but I need to look out for harder punches? More hooks and uppers?”

“Mm. And what are you going to do about it?”

Kaoru gave Kaname a determined smile. “The only thing I _can_ do.”

The bell rang. Ren moved to meet Kaoru in the middle of the ring, light on his feet but no longer circling his kouhai. His shoulders jogged as he took his characteristic hitman stance. As Kaname predicted, Kaoru was facing down the technical boxer-puncher that went undefeated on the lead-up to the Winter Cup, before he rediscovered his spark against Hayato. Rather than waiting for Kaoru to strike first so he could counter, Ren took the initiative. Flicker jabs opened up the miniscule cracks in Kaoru’s solid guard; chopping right punches hammered into Kaoru’s headgear. Left handed smashes intercepted any attempt at Kaoru’s powerful Gazelle Punch.

But Kaoru persisted. After all, like his senpai, he was a Takeda boxer. And as Ren had said two years ago to his friends during the first training session together at Coach Shinoda’s gym in Tokyo, quitting ‘wasn’t a thing’.

Kaoru absorbed the punches. He rolled and weaved with them, mitigating the impact as he doggedly closed the distance. The one-sided offense gradually shifted to exchanges. He started feeling feedback from his punches as they slammed into Ren’s body.

But Wildcard’s hands never dropped. The light never left his eyes. Even when Kaoru actually knocked him back with a series of hooks over his senpai’s guard, Ren simply returned to his usual stance and moved back into range, returning fire. He seemed to shrug off blows that would have knocked down any of his previous opponents - even a motivated Kobayashi.

The bell rang, signifying the end of the middle round. Kaoru returned to his corner, gasping for breath and collapsing onto the stool Mayu placed there.

“The pressure… The pressure is insane.” He said, shaking his head. “Especially at the end.”

Kaname nodded. “That was a warning, Iwai. He’s coming for you in the final round. He’s going to treat you as seriously as he treated Miyazawa.”

Kaoru paled. Hayato Miyazawa had pushed Ren further than any other fight Kaoru had witnessed. “What… What should I do?” His eyes flitted across the ring. Ren was staring at him. Hunting him. He turned back as Kaname took hold of either side of his headgear, turning him back to face her.

“Iwai…” Kaname smiled reassuringly. “Just keep your eyes open. There’s things in boxing… No. There’s things in any martial art that can’t be learned in any other way other than combat. Certain angles of attack. The feel of receiving a stronger opponent’s punches. The pressure from someone who’s aiming to seriously finish you. He’s shown you that you’ve caught up to his past selves. He’s now going to show you where you are in relation to his current self. This is his farewell. Do you understand what he’s telling you? Why he chose you?”

Kaoru’s eyes widened. He stood up, shoving his mouthguard back in. Although he understood, Kaname spoke anyway, the warmth in her words bracing him.

“Show him that the club’s in good hands, Kaoru. Show him that he can move on to the next stage of his life without worries.”

The bell rang.

With a determined growl, Kaoru charged forward, his body tight and compact, his weaving and bobbing perfect. He knew Ren’s preferred angles; he knew the speed and force of his punches. He had spent countless hours watching him, even if their boxing styles were so different. The pressure was almost overwhelming. Ren’s eyes flashed quicksilver. But still, Kaoru pushed forward, conquering his fear.

_‘This is it! Senpai…! Watch me!’_

>>>

Everyone at the _gasshuku_ gathered on the rooftop of Takeda Boxing for their evening dinner. The barbeque sizzled with more than enough meat to feed twenty hungry boxers; the mini-fridge and several coolers were packed with cold drinks. Re-energized by the party-like atmosphere, a few of the fighters started a pickup game of basketball, making use of the hoop that was installed up there.

Ren sipped at his Coke Zero while he lounged on one of the beach chairs. He glanced over to his side as Sadayo Kawakami joined him, wearing her Shujin Boxing jacket over her shorts and t-shirt. Ren smiled, nodding to the team’s faculty advisor.

“How’s Kaoru?”

“Awake. He’ll be coming up soon.” Kawakami said, shaking her head. “Did you really have to hit him that hard? You knocked him clean out through his headgear.”

Ren sighed, thinking back to the fight. Kaoru had charged at him with everything he had. He actually managed to weave past his flicker jabs, forcing Ren to stop him with a modified 7-2-7 combination - a left smash, chopping right, and another left smash. Although that had clearly gotten to his kouhai, he _kept coming_. His fighting spirit stoked Ren’s… And the former captain really let loose. Ren frowned. Maybe he had gone overboard.

“Sensei, is--”

“When he was knocked out, he had this stupid grin on his face. And when he woke up, he _still_ had a stupid grin on his face. You guys are all nuts.” Kawakami said, throwing a hand in the air in exasperation. “I can’t believe I’m staying on as faculty advisor.”

“Says the woman who takes any excuse to wear her ‘Coach’ jacket.” Ren said, smiling wryly. “And that notebook of yours is getting pretty dog-eared.”

“It’s… ...It’s a nice jacket.” Kawakami mumbled. “And if I’m going to be the advisor, I should do a decent job at it.”

“Heh. Yeah.” Ren said. “...Hey, sensei?”

“Hm?”

“Remember how you basically conned me into starting this club?”

Kawakami sat up, squawking a little in protest. “I… I was in a tough spot! Chouno-sensei was all over me, remember?! Besides, haven’t you--”

“Thanks for doing that.” Ren smiled warmly at her.

“...Oh.” Kawakami blushed, averting her eyes. “You need to be careful with that smile, Ren. You’ll make Ann feel insecure.”

“Ah. Well, about that…” Ren leaned over, whispering to his former homeroom teacher. Her eyes widened. She covered her mouth in shock.

“What?! And why are you telling _me_ , of all people?!”

Ren shrugged. He smiled. “Because of everything you did. Because of all the times you quashed rumors about us when everyone thought she was the ‘easy blonde’ and I was the ‘convict transfer’. Because of all the times you turned a blind eye to the moments we stole together.”

Kawakami sighed. “But you’re both so young. How are you so sure…?”

“I’m not.” Ren said, simply. “Well. I’m sure about _her_. But everything else? Who knows what’s going to happen. Sometimes, you just have to go ahead. Like if I was hypothetically a teacher, hypothetically thinking about asking that hypothetical guidance counsellor out on a date.”

Kawakami blushed again, deeper this time. “Wh-what?! I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She drew herself up, crossing her arms. “Besides. Didn’t you call yourself an eighteen-year old facepuncher with no wisdom to impart? Who turned you into the love guru?”

“Right.” Ren chuckled. “Sorry.”

They both turned around as the door creaked open, revealing Kaoru and Kaname. The featherweight leaned on Kaname for support; he sported a bandage over his cheek. He startled as everyone present gave him a loud cheer. Shou and Eiji walked over, shoving a cold drink into his hands and slapping him hard on the back.

“Ah. That’s my cue to leave.” Ren stood up. “Just wanted to make sure Kaoru was okay.”

“Right. You’re seeing Ann off to New York tomorrow morning, right?” Kawakami smirked. “She’s going to be away for over a week. Aren’t you going to be lonely?”

Ren flashed a crooked grin at Kawakami. “I’ll manage.”

She blinked. She knew that look. “...Wait. Are you…”

“Senpai!”

Ren turned to Kaoru. “Hey, Kaoru. Good to see you up and about.”

Kaoru nodded. He frowned. “...You’re leaving? There’s still two days left for the training camp.”

“Yep. I have something I need to do.” Ren chuckled at the look of obvious disappointment on Kaoru’s face. “Come on, don’t be like that. You showed me that I don’t have any reason to stick around, Kaoru.”

Ren took out his phone, ordering an Uber as he stooped down and grabbed his bag. He looked at Kaoru. “There’s one more thing I need to say, though. Come on. Walk me to the car?”

Ren and Kaoru left the gym and waited on the sidewalk for Ren’s ride. They were silent for a few moments. Kaoru kept glancing at Ren. After all, he was the one who said he had one more thing to say. Eventually, Ren sighed.

“...You’d think after all the shovel talks I’ve gotten, I’d be better at giving them.” Ren laughed softly.

“Shovel talk…?”

“Shujin Boxing isn’t the only precious thing that I’m entrusting to you, Kaoru.” Ren said, simply.

“What do you… Oh!” Kaoru gasped.

To this point, Ren had never done anything other than give encouragement in Kaoru’s pursuit of Kaname. After all, he was truly happy that his ‘little sister’ had found someone who loved her for her, who really saw her. And the fact that Kaoru was a straight-laced fellow boxer was all the better.

Ren nodded. “Yeah. I couldn’t be what she wanted me to be, but I’ve always thought of her as a sister, Kaoru. She’s one of the most important people in my life. I’m not going to say something cliche, like ‘if you hurt her I’ll kill you’. Hell. You probably know better than most that she’s more than capable of doing that herself. Just… cherish her, okay?”

Kaoru nodded firmly. “I already do, senpai.”

“I know.” Ren smiled. His ride pulled around the corner. “Anyway. Have a good camp, Kaoru. Stay in touch. I’ll still see you guys whenever you come out to train at Shinoda’s.”

“You bet!”

Ren opened the door of the white Acura RDX, stooping down to get in the car.

“ANIKIIIII!”

“Captaaaaain!”

Ren turned around. He grinned. The entirety of Shujin Boxing was lined up across the front of the rooftop, waving down at their former captain. Eiji and Shou grinned, giving him a simultaneous thumbs-up.

“GO GET HER, ANIKI!”

“Make an honest woman out of anesan, will ya!?”

Ren’s jaw dropped. He shot a glare at Kawakami, who just shrugged.

“Sorry~! It kinda slipped out. Don’t worry! We’ll keep it a secret until you text us what she says, Ren!”

Ren waved, getting into the car as his face burned. The driver grinned at him in the rearview.

“Kamakura station, kid? Or some place more romantic to pop the question, huh?”

Ren coughed. He shook his head. “Not yet. There’s a few things I need to do first.” The boxer’s phone buzzed.

**RK: Hey. Everything should be good on the other side. Kaz is happy to have you. He’s happy to help with the other thing, too. But make sure you practice, okay?**

**RA: I will. Thanks. This is a huge help**

**RK: Least I can do. Shiho’d kill me if I didn’t do everything I could. Let us know how it goes! And keep me in mind for the wedding gig, okay?**

**RA: Haha. Might be waiting for a few years, Kurosawa. But I will.**

>>>

March 24, 2018 

“Have a safe flight Elias-san, Erika-san!” Ren waved at the two as they passed through security at Narita International Airport. The two waved back at Ren, smiling at him and their daughter. Erika paused, giving Ann a quick hug.

“Take as long as you need, Kei-chan.” Erika said. She turned, surreptitiously wiping at her eye.

“Uh… Okay…?” Ann said, frowning in confusion. “We’re just going to be gone for around a week, Mom. Why are you acting like this?”

“No reason! No reason! Just young love and all that. Give an old lady her indulgences.” Erika said.

Ann looked even more skeptical. People still mistook Erika as Ann’s sister on occasion. “...Right.”

Elias put an arm around Erika’s shoulders. “Sorry, Kei-chan. Your mother’s a little tipsy already. She had a little too much to drink at the bar.”

Erika blinked. She glared at Elias. “ _Excuse_ me?”

Elias leaned in, speaking low enough that Ann couldn’t hear. “Don’t blow this for Ren-kun, _kulta_.”

Erika blushed. “Er… Right. Too much to drink. Haha… ha…”

Ann’s parents disappeared past the security gate. Ann shook her head, sighing. “They’ve been a bit weird lately. Ever since Daddy got back from that ‘team-building’ exercise, actually.”

“Mm. He hasn’t been sleeping as well, right?” Ren asked.

Ann nodded. “Yeah. Which means Mom doesn’t sleep as well, either. But I think she would have lost more sleep over Daddy and Tou-san fighting.”

“Right.” Ren said. He spread his arms. “Well. This is it, Songbird. See you next week?”

“Mm.” Ann hesitated before stepping into his hug. She sighed lightly.

“Something wrong?” Ren asked, kissing the crown of her head.

“Nothing. I was just expecting you to pull some big, embarrassing, grand romantic gesture.” Ann said, smiling. “We’re even in an airport before the gate. It’s like something out of those movies and manga you love so much.”

“Well… Since you mentioned it…” Ren let go of Ann. Her eyes became saucer-wide as he took a half step back, and reached into his breast pocket. He withdrew a small box.

“! Wildcard… Is… Oh my _God…_ ”

“Ann Takamaki…” Ren said, gravely. “Will you… call me every day?”

He opened the box, revealing a SIM card.

Ann gasped dramatically, putting a hand on her chest. She took out her phone, popping out the old SIM card and replacing it with the international one. “It even fits perfectly! How did you know?”

“Well, you know. A master thief has his ways.” Ren said, grinning.

Ann giggled. She tilted her head back expectantly. Ren kissed each cheek, her nose, and then her lips. She nodded approvingly.

“Have fun apartment hunting, Wildcard. See you next week!”

After one more hug, Ann passed through security to board Japan Airlines JL6 to JFK Airport in New York. Ren watched her go for as long as he could, and then turned away from security. He glanced at his phone, frowning. It was only nine-thirty in morning.

 _‘That’s the only really annoying part of this plan.’_ Ren thought, as he turned _away_ from the airport’s exit, heading instead to a bank of lockers along the wall in the terminal. He unlocked one of them, withdrawing a suitcase. He headed over to a nearby cafe, settling in for a long wait. It was too early to go through security.

After all, Japan Airlines JL4 to JFK didn’t leave until six-thirty in the evening.

>>>

OMAKE - March 19, 2018 

It was a quiet night at the Okumura estate. Haru was out with Yusuke, leaving Rui Tachibana to her own devices. Occasionally, Haru’s ‘personal assistant’ kept an eye on the two from a respectful distance. But lately, Haru had been wanting a little more _actual_ alone time with her new boyfriend. And so, Rui had a quiet night off, spending it alone.

Mostly alone.

She laid on her bed in her quarters, curled up on her side. Her phone was pressed to her ear as she uncharacteristically clutched a plush toy to her chest. Also, a _very_ uncharacteristic blush decorated her cheeks.

“How… How can you say things like that? Honestly…” Her smile widened despite those words. Do you really think lines like that would work on me? I… …”

She rolled back and forth, covering her eyes with her forearm as ‘lines like that’ really _did_ work on her. She was a sucker for silver foxes. Especially the one that owned Leblanc.

Her phone beeped. “Ah. Sorry. I’m getting another call. One second.” Rui sat up, glancing at her phone. She blinked at the name listed on the caller ID, switching to the incoming call.

“It’s not like you to call me out of the blue, Amamiya.” Rui said. “What’s wrong? The fathers are acting… unreasonable?”

“How did you know?” Ren asked.

Rui raised her eyebrow, even though Ren couldn’t see her.

“...Sorry. Stupid of me to ask.” Ren said. “So, I could use your help…”

Rui listened as he explained quickly. She nodded.

“Easy enough. I’ll be there in ten.”

She stood up, switching back to Sojiro’s call. “Hey, I have to step out for a couple hours. It’s nothing serious.” She tied her long blue hair up into its usual ponytail before carefully replacing her Limited Edition Ollie the Otter plushie onto its customary spot on her bed.

“I just need to go and teach someone some manners.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also sorrynotsorry for the bait and switch at the end :)
> 
> It's funny how I can sit through a block that lasted two to four weeks, and then suddenly I can churn out 20k words in two days like it's nothing. I should stick to cracked out humor, apparently.
> 
> Just a few more notes as I read this through in the light of day. When I first started this long-ass epilogue for GtD, this tone was pretty much what I had envisioned from the start. Goofy, romcom level impossible-to-explain insanity. Like a petite Japanese housewife/ryokan owner carrying around a collapsible naginata (which would STILL be really bulky) and pulling it out of nowhere like Taiga in Toradora with her bokken. And aside from a brief nod from Ann and Ren at the end of chapter 22, no one even blinks an eye at the fact that it's certifiably insane to have something like that on hand. And even then, they're more concerned with 'why' she carries it around, as opposed to the 'how'.
> 
> This is why I love anime and manga and tend to stay away from live action stuff. When I watch real people do insane things (like any shonen live action, IE Bleach) or do heartfelt speeches/dramatic moments, it breaks my immersion (pardon me for the oft-meme'd phrase). I just can't get into it. I can't believe it. But somehow, watching/reading animated characters do this crap is fine. I can believe it, because they live in a world where spouting off cringey stuff like "Make sure you pass on the fist you inherited" or "Senpai...! Watch me!" is normal. If someone actually pulled that crap in my dojo, they never would have heard the end of it, lol.
> 
> It's a bit of a weird balance. Through everything I write, I try to make the emotions and thought processes 'real'. IE, Kaname's a little ball of hate who's learning how to love not only herself, but someone else in a very real, mutual, non-infatuated way. So I'd expect her to get jealous and insecure when someone tries to give 'her' Kaoru chocolates. She knows he cares about her. She knows he has a wonderfully straightforward heart and would never stray. But at the same time, she still has that nagging insecurity of 'What if he becomes cool enough that he attracts someone who _isn't_ completely dysfunctional?' Despite her confidence in boxing and general mayhem, she's just as insecure as any other girl her age. In our world, this would be reflected by passive aggression, maybe clingyness, maybe cattiness, maybe nothing at all but bottling it up.
> 
> In the world of GtD, it means an exploding ink pack and reverse-pick pocketing money into the teacher's pocket. But I think (hope) this insanity works because the emotion is believable.
> 
> Much like Kenji and Elias' feud. You have two very prideful men, who are actually far more similar than they'd care to admit. For all of Kenji's penny-pinching, boasting, and general embarrassing dad-isms, he lives for his son and wife. He's so proud of Ren that he doesn't know what to do other than German Suplex him or Scorpion Deathlock him or Moonsault Press him. And Elias is the same - I couldn't find a way to work it into the story, but when he and Erika first met, he was the stereotypical impassive Finn. Hardly emotional about anything, fitting the stereotype about 'Finnish couples only say 'I love you' on their wedding day and deathbed'. But Erika put cracks in that shell - and Ann smashed it into pieces the day she was born, and then turned those pieces into magical pixie dust the day she called Elias 'Daddy'. Which of course, is why his heart breaks a little when Ann refers to Kenji as 'Tou-san' (even though EVERYONE of Ann and Ren's generation refers to Kenji as Tou-san given enough time. The Amamiya family is just that warm).
> 
> While these two have buried the hatchet it's buried shallow. There's likely more conflict in store - I imagine if I ever get around to writing the wedding, the feud will likely start up again over things like the wedding venue/style/theme as they compete to demonstrate who loves the young couple more/who can provide the more 'ideal' storybook ending (beginning?) for their kids.
> 
> The phrase "You can't have her/I won't allow it" is a cliche. Horimiya does a great job lampooning it also. In the future, when Momoko Amamiya's first boyfriend meets Ren, Ren will most likely try to set up a situation where he gets to say this. Not because he means it - but because he just REALLY wants to say it, lol.
> 
> List of scary women in this AU: Kaname, Makoto, Haru, Rui, Inoue, Bachan, Erika, Ann (if you get between her and crepes/Ren), Shiho (if her chaotic neutral whims target you). Yeah. I'm pretty sure I have a complex.
> 
> What exactly happened up on that mountain? Much like with Makoto and Ren's past experiences, _they don't want to talk about it_. (I'm sure your imaginations are far better than anything I could ever come up with).
> 
> OMAKE - Well, _someone_ had to get that otter.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If they can make it there, they can make it anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No new terms to go over.
> 
> Just saccharine fluff. Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: Sorry. One term to review:
> 
> yamato nadeshiko - Yamato is older term for Japan, nadeshiko a delicate carnation (Dianthus superbus). Taken together, refers to the idealized epitome of feminine Japanese beauty. IE, Hifumi Togo, and that one episode of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu where Kaname dresses up and does a 180 on her personality to help Sousuke out.

March 31, 2018 

It took a lot to catch the attention of New Yorkers. After all, the city was truly cosmopolitan, one of the cultural capitals of the world. People from all walks of life wandered the streets at any given time of the day, from those too destitute to care about anything other than their next meal, to those too rich to care about anything happening around them; from people who blended into the background, to some of the most beautiful people in the world. So, who could take extra time to gawk, other than tourists? Real New Yorkers had places to be and things to do.

But today, tourists and real New Yorkers alike performed double takes at the window of Elm Coffee on 62nd street, just a few blocks east of Central Park. Just inside, two stunningly beautiful young women enjoyed coffee together. Some passers-by wondered if it was a photoshoot; the two girls looked like models.

They were half-right.

“Are you _serious_ ?! Your father and Ren’s father brawled in public after your graduation?! And then they got _spanked_ in front of everyone?!” Reiko gasped, her hand covering her mouth and stifling her laughter.

“Mmhm.” Ann giggled. “And even after that, they made a complete mess of dinner the next day. Ren resorted to having them dumped on a mountain in the middle of the night to work out their differences.”

Reiko shook her head. “Really? I can’t imagine Ren-kun doing such a thing.”

“Aheh… He kinda lost it when I started crying…” Ann said, sheepishly.

“...Ah. Of course.” Reiko murmured, a wistful smile crossing her lips.

“Oh, Rei-chan.” Ann lowered her eyes. “S-sorry. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about him--”

“Don’t be silly, Ann-chan. I asked, remember?” Reiko reached across the table, squeezing Ann’s hand. She smiled warmly at her. “It’s just amazing how much he’s changed. It’s like he’s more honest with his feelings, but less straightforward with his actions? Don’t get me wrong… I think it’s a good thing. Before, I would have considered him reliable. But now, it’s like he makes the ‘impossible’ ‘possible’ in interesting ways. And that’s all because of you.”

Ann blushed. Reiko smiled wryly, looking at Ann’s rosy cheeks, the intricate braid she had chosen to weave her hair into, and the simple but elegant combination of white turtleneck sweater, plaid skirt, and boots she had chosen.

“And you’ve changed, too. Your photoshoots don’t do you any justice, you know.” Reiko laughed.

“You’re one to talk, Rei-chan.” Ann grinned. The _yamato nadeshiko_ had only become more graceful and poised over the past two years. And today, the skirt suit and glasses she wore gave her a certain ageless, untouchable quality.

On cue, someone outside walked into the lamp post just outside the window of the cafe.

The two girls giggled together. That made five victims of rubbernecking so far.

“Really, though. You look like a real professional.” Ann said. “I keep having to remind myself that you’re still a high school student.”

“Until June.” Reiko made a face. “I’m jealous of you and everyone back home for graduating already. When you start university, I’ll still be wearing a high school uniform. And the suit’s not that big of a deal, Ann-chan. I’m not _really_ working. It’s just an internship at a branch office of the Environmental Protection Agency. I don’t do anything beyond take notes and observe.”

“Is that the kind of work you want to do, Rei-chan?” Ann said. “I thought you said you were going to Columbia to study political science?”

“Just to start.” Reiko said, frowning thoughtfully. “I think I want to get into law eventually, but I’m not sure what that really means. So I’m trying to learn about all the options. Corporate, environmental, criminal, etcetera… Thankfully, my scholarship doesn’t specify a degree or area of study. I can switch majors or tailor my courses when I get a better idea.”

“You’re always so put-together…” Ann said, sipping her latte. “I’m serious about modeling, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a business degree. But I have _no_ idea what would be the best way to transition into taking over my parents’ business after I retire from modeling. And here you are, with internships, and a scholarship in America…”

Reiko laughed. “What’s that old saying? ‘Lucky at cards, unlucky in love’? I’ve been so busy figuring this stuff out that I haven’t had much of a social life.”

“Really? But you’re absolutely _stunning_.” Ann said.

Another clang and curse. Another boy walked away, rubbing his forehead. Six.

“Just haven’t found the right person yet. I’m sure he’s out there, though.” She smiled at Ann. “I’m glad we kept in touch. It’s hard to hear a love story like yours and not have faith in a little magic, you know? You’ll have to let me know how things go at Waseda with you two.”

Ann frowned. “I’m a little worried. We’re both going to be so busy that I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other.”

Reiko shrugged. “The Ren-kun you’re with won’t let something like that get in the way of your grand romance. And more importantly, the Ann-chan I know wouldn’t stand for it either. I’m sure things will work out.”

Ann smiled. “Thanks, Rei-chan.”

“Of course!” Reiko grinned. “Anyway, more importantly! What are your plans tomorrow? We should go out and have some fun! You like jazz, right? There’s a place I should take you to. It’s a really famous club called ‘Birdland’.”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that place! Let’s go for sure! Wildcard’s going to be so jealous…” Ann glanced at her phone. “Text me the details? I’ve gotta run, Rei-chan.”

“Sure thing, Ann-chan! Look forward to it!” Reiko smiled as the blonde girl left the cafe. After a moment, she took out her own phone.

**RT: Everything’s set. She doesn’t suspect a thing.**

**RA: Thanks, Rei-chan**

**RT: You know, it’s a bit of a faux-pas to ask your ex to help with this sort of thing.**

**RA: I know. Sorry. But she mentioned that she was meeting with you, and I don’t have many contacts in the city. Also, Erika-san is a terrible actress. I also thought it would be better if you found out from me directly rather than after the fact. I didn’t want you to feel put out, and I didn’t want Ann to feel guilty afterwards**

**RT: Such a thoughtful young man you’ve become, Ren-kun. Careful. You might make me fall for you again.**

**RA: ...**

**RT: Haha. You thought I was serious. Still cocky, I see.**

**RA: Hah. You got that right. Thanks again.**

**RT: No problem.**

Reiko smiled and sighed, putting her phone away. She waved one more time through the window at Ann, just before the girl crossed the street in the direction of the Plaza Hotel.

“You should _really_ look forward to it, Ann-chan…”

>>>

April 1, 2018 

The following night, Ann, Reiko, Elias, and Erika walked into the Birdland Jazz Club. Normally, Ann wouldn’t have considered a night on the town with her parents as an ideal way to have fun. But, her hair was down, and she was wearing a backless red dress and heels. And Reiko was in a form-fitting black and silver dress that highlighted her figure perfectly. Without the towering presence of Elias Takamaki, Ann suspected they would have been fighting off prospective suitors all night. Even _with_ her father around, boys and men kept trying to catch Ann and Reiko’s eyes.

The party of four took their seats at a table in the storied club. Portraits of the greats decorated the walls, from Art Blakey to John Coltrane to Thelonious Monk.

Ann took pictures liberally. “I _really_ need to take Ren here some day…”

“I’m sure he’d love it, Kei-chan.” Erika smiled.

“Mmhm! You seem to be having fun too, Mom. It’s like you’re glowing!” Ann grinned.

“Aheh. I can’t imagine why! I mean, it must be because this is our first family vacation in years!” Erika said, in an oddly high-pitched voice. “It’s not like you have to point it out. I mean, can’t I be happy about being out with my dau--ow!”

“Sorry, _kulta_. Didn’t mean to step on your toes. These tables are a little small.” Elias said, smiling at Erika.

Erika pouted, looking remarkably like her daughter. Fortunately for her, Ann didn’t notice. Her attention was on the band as they took the stage. She blinked. All four members of the group wore black suits, red ties, and white domino masks.

“Why are they all wearing masks?” Ann asked.

Reiko shrugged, glancing at her phone. “Their profile says it’s an artistic choice. They want everyone to focus on the music, and not the musicians. They’re called the Kazuto Nakazawa Quartet.”

“Oh! They’re Japanese?” Ann asked.

“At least the frontman is.” Reiko said. “The profile only has his information… Kazuto ‘Kaz’ Nakazawa. Twenty-one years old. He’s the trumpet player.”

The trumpet player took the microphone. Ann suppressed a gasp. The way he stood in his suit, with that mask and his black hair… It reminded her so much of Joker that it made her heart ache. For a split second, she wondered if it could somehow be Ren.

But her hope was quelled when he spoke. Nice voice, but not her Wildcard.

“Good evening, everyone. Happy April Fool’s Day! We are the Kazuto Nakazawa Quartet. This is _Moanin’._ ”

A catchy, swinging tune started on the piano. Ann’s eyes went there - again, the resemblance was striking, because of the suits and the masks. But the pianist was a little too smooth. After all, in his own words, Ren was a recreational pianist at best.

The music was perfect.

Ann grinned, paying attention to both her phone and the band. Kazuto took over on his trumpet, playing a brilliant solo as the other band members quieted.

**AT: Wildcard, you wouldn’t believe where I am right now**

**RA: Hm?**

**AT: <BirdlandSelfie.jpg>**

**RA: Oh. That’s just not fair.**

**AT: I know, right? I’ll take you here some time!**

**RA: Not talking about the club. Talking about your dress. More pictures, please.**

**AT: If you’re good, you can have the real thing**

**RA: But if I’m bad, I can** **_enjoy_ ** **the real thing**

The trumpet solo ended as the piano, bass, and drums joined back in, the syncopation swelling to near-cacophony as discordant notes somehow created a brilliantly thrilling performance. Ann giggled; she put her phone away as her father looked over curiously. He shook his head with a little smile. 

“Was that Ren-kun?”

“Mm!” Ann nodded brightly.

Elias chuckled. “He’s on the other side of the world, and he still gets all your attention, Kei-chan? I suppose that’s fine.”

“Sorry, Daddy.” Ann giggled. “I just miss him.”

A familiar tune started. It was one of Ren’s favorites - _But Not For Me_. The trumpet and piano intertwined, starting the soft tribute to the lovelorn. Ann reached for her phone again to text Ren to let him know about the song choice.

A server approached their table. “Can I get you folks anything else?”

Ann nodded. “Yes please. I’ll have--”

 _They’re writing songs of love_ _  
__But not for me_ _  
__A lucky star’s above_ _  
__But not for me_

She dropped her phone. Ann knew that voice. It was unmistakable. It wasn’t the smooth tones of a professional, like Kazuto Nakazawa or Ryoichi Kurosawa. But to Ann, it was perfect. It was smoke and sandpaper; silk and seduction. It sang to her of softness and safety; heat and passion. Her eyes widened. She craned her neck to look at the stage.

“...Miss? What will you have?”

“Hm? I… I don’t know. Coffee or something!” Ann said distractedly. It was too late to spot the singer. The band had already transitioned into improvised solos between the trumpet and piano. But Ann knew this arrangement. Any moment, the singing would start again.

At the microphone, Kazuto lowered his trumpet. Ann frowned in disappointment as his smooth, professional voice took over.

 _I was a fool to fall and get that way_ _  
__Heigh-ho, alas, and also, lack-a-day_ _  
__Although I can’t dismiss the memory of her kiss_ _  
__I guess she’s not for me_

“Ann-chan? Is something wrong?” Reiko asked.

“N-no.” Ann mumbled. “...Just hearing things, I think.”

The band started in on the next song - _Someday My Prince Will Come,_ a variation of the Bill Evans arrangement. Ann found it hard not to laugh at the irony. She smiled gratefully as the server returned with her coffee. She took a sip. Her eyes widened; she nearly spat it out. Instead, she coughed, choking and sputtering into a napkin.

Reiko patted Ann’s back out of concern. “Ann-chan…!”

“F-fine. I’m fine.” Ann said. She stared down at the coffee mug in her hands. “Mom… Daddy... Does… does the coffee taste _familiar_ to you?”

Erika and Elias looked at Ann with no small amount of confusion. They took a sip of their own cups. Elias frowned; he shook his head. So did Erika.

“Why, Kei-chan?” Elias asked.

“...Nothing. It’s nothing.” Ann mumbled, still staring at the mug.

It tasted almost _exactly_ like Leblanc coffee. Apparently, she was _really_ missing Ren. That, or… But that wasn’t possible. She had been texting him during the band’s performance.

There was one way to find out. Ann stood up. “I… I’m just going to go to the bathroom. I need to make a call.”

>>>

In the bathroom, she took out her phone and called Ren. For the first time in their relationship, she hoped he _wouldn’t_ pick up. Because that would mean he was on stage. And that would mean he had followed her to New York. And doing something so excessive, so unnecessary, so insanely romantic especially as they entered a new chapter in their lives could only mean…

_‘You know, I recall a conversation we had last year about how a traditional Japanese boy like yourself might consider something like that a proposal.’_

_‘Good thing you’re not a traditional Japanese girl, then. As far as you’re concerned, I might be saying_ **_anything_ ** _. ...Ann. We’re young. Maybe too young to be making promises that tempt fate. But… I really do want that to happen someday soon. To come home to you every day.’_

Ren’s phone rang. Once. Three times. Five times… Ann’s heart swelled.

A soft beep as he picked up. Sounds of explosions, digitized music, and Ryuji’s laughter filtered in from the background on the call. Ann bit back a disappointed sigh.

“...Songbird? What’s wrong?” Ren asked, his voice clear over the phone.

“...Nothing.” Ann mumbled. “Nothing. Call me crazy, but I just thought you were here, planning something insane.”

“Well. You know me.”

Ann smiled, twisting a lock of her hair around her fingers. “I do. I know you’d be here if you could. But I can hear Ryuji there in the background, playing that game he likes so much. You’re in the arcade?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Keep yourself busy until I get back, Wildcard. I miss you. I love you.”

“Love you too, Songbird.”

Ann sighed, hanging up and slipping her phone into her purse. So she wasn’t going crazy. She looked at herself in the mirror. It really was too bad that Ren wasn’t here. He really would have loved everything about tonight. The venue. The dress. The music.

The band transitioned into another song. It was yet another one of Ren’s favorites. Ann smiled ruefully, turning to head back to enjoy the performance. Her breath caught as the vocalist started up again.

 _Some day, when I’m awfully low_ _  
__When the world is cold_ _  
__I will feel a glow just thinking of you_ _  
__And the way you look tonight_

Apparently, she _was_ going crazy. That voice, English with a Japanese accent that faded when he sang. This was Ren’s voice. It _had_ to be Ren’s voice.

Ann burst out of the bathroom. She tried to make her way back to her table, but a large party of people arriving at the club blocked her path. And from where she was standing, she couldn’t get a clear look at the stage. She balled up her fists in frustration.

 _With each word your tenderness grows_ _  
__Tearing my fears apart_ _  
__And that laugh that wrinkles your nose_ _  
__Touches my foolish heart_

She was running out of time. Once again, Ann knew this particular arrangement. There was only one verse left, and no intervening solos. The model found herself irrationally angry at Tony Bennet for coming up with it. The large group of people finally left. She ran back to her table, not even bothering to sit down as she tried to glimpse the singer over the other tables and past the patrolling servers. It was the pianist. The pianist was definitely singing. But he still wore that mask, and he wasn’t directly facing the audience, and he looked _just_ like the others…

 _Lovely, never, ever change_ _  
__Keep that breathless charm_ _  
__Won’t you please arrange it?_ _  
__‘Cause I love you_ _  
__Just the way you look tonight_

But it had to be him. She woke up to this song and voice every time she set the alarm on her phone. Everything was perfectly familiar. The way the words drifted over her like a caress; the way he made her feel like he was singing about her, only her. The audience broke into applause at the end of the show. The band stood. The pianist stepped out from behind the piano to take a bow. This was her chance, finally, to see who he was. To see if--

The audience stood, turning the applause into a standing ovation.

“Are you serious!?” Ann groaned, her view completely obscured.

“Once again, we’re the Kazuto Nakazawa Quartet. Thank you and goodnight!”

The band members turned, filtering out the back.

“! Wait!” Ann yelled. “Don’t go!”

“Kei-chan?! What are you--” Elias started to say.

“Daddy, I have to go! I’ll be fine!” Ann said. She braced herself for the inevitable argument about how she was in an unfamiliar city, and how it was the middle of the night. Instead, her father stood up, helping his daughter into her coat.

“It’s cold out, Kei-chan.” He said, simply.

“...Daddy?” Ann blinked. She wasn’t so perturbed that the shock didn’t register. Her jaw dropped as her father _sniffled_. He turned away as he sat back down, waving at Ann to leave.

Erika rubbed Elias’ back, smiling fondly at her husband. She looked up at Ann, her own eyes shining. “Go on, Kei-chan. You’re going to meet someone, aren’t you?”

Ann turned to Reiko, her face still contorted in shock.

Reiko just smiled. “He really does make the ‘impossible’ ‘possible’, doesn’t he?”

Ann let out a short laugh/cry. She nodded quickly and dashed backstage. The band was already gone. One of the club’s staff members told her they had already gone out the back entrance. Ann gave chase, running in her impractical outfit like she was still Panther in the Metaverse. She charged onto the sidewalk. With wild blue eyes and a racing heart, she looked up and down the street for any sign of a suit and white mask.

But there was nothing. Nothing but the usual Manhattan foot traffic, and Ann’s breath misting the cold air. She bit her lip, gradually looking and feeling crestfallen.

Her phone chimed just as she thought about turning to go back inside. When she looked at it, she nearly dropped it like it was a venomous snake. The reason for her recoil was the sight of the glowing red eye in the center of the screen. But again, just as she started to assume the worst, the pulsing glow intensified, obliterating the lines and morphing to form a stylized songbird and the four card suits, contained within a softly glowing red heart. Two lines of text slowly came into focus underneath the emblem.

 **If you’ve come this far** **  
****Maybe you’re willing to come a little further?**

Ann giggled; she wiped at her tears.

_‘A girl in Japan who understands a Shawshank reference. I think I might be falling in love with you.’_

The heart emblem shrank down to the size of a map pin; her navigation app opened up. The heart landed on the corner of 59th Street and Second Avenue, and an appropriate route was highlighted for her. With an exuberant grin, she took off down the street.

>>>

Ann came to a stop across the street from the appointed place. She had her coat draped over her arm; the warmth she felt was only partly from her hurried walk from Birdland. She quickly identified where she was meant to go - the Roosevelt Island Tramway. She walked into the station; the place was devoid of any other passengers. Instead, a lone attendant stood at the gate. While Ann didn’t recognize her, the woman didn’t look the least bit surprised to see Ann.

The woman smiled, printing a ticket off for Ann with her handheld device. “Here you go, miss.”

Ann blinked. “Uhm, thanks. But aren’t I supposed to pay, first?”

The attendant paused. She winked at Ann. “Maybe. But it’s okay to do things out of order sometimes, isn’t it?”

Ann froze in recollection. Her jaw dropped.

_‘They just… worked. Just like the way I felt about you, when I met you under that awning. So, no. I can’t say I’m worried about us doing things out of order.’_

The attendant’s smile widened. “Well? Go on, girl! The cabin’s waiting for you!”

Ann nodded. “Thank you!”

Her heels clicked on the smooth floor. The doors of the tram were wide open, beckoning. Her walk turned into a run up the ramp. She stopped at the doorway, clutching the frame. She frantically looked at each corner of the 125-person capacity car. Then each wall. Then the ceiling.

Empty. Completely empty.

“...Seriously?” Ann murmured. “Why…”

“Do you have your ticket, miss?”

Ann whirled.

Ren stood there, in the black suit and red tie worn by members of the Kazuto Nakazawa Quartet. He held the white domino mask casually in his left hand; he flashed his best, most infuriating, most enticing roguish grin at Ann.

A grin that was wiped off his face by arms thrown around his neck; by kisses that fell onto him like rain.

The mask fell to the floor, forgotten. After all, Ren didn’t really have anything to hide from Ann anymore.

>>>

Ren’s crooked, smug grin reasserted itself as the tram made its slow progress across the East River. The cabin was lit only by the lights of the city around them. But, much like their times on the ferris wheel at Odaiba, the young couple really only saw each other.

“You… you’re completely insane. I can’t believe you’re here.” Ann breathed, shaking her head. She squeezed him again. After that first embrace and flurry of kisses, she had refused to let go of him. Ren didn’t mind in the slightest. “How long did you spend organizing all of this?”

“Not long. It really only came together after I asked for Shiho’s blessing, during the graduation party on the 18th.” Ren said. “I already knew you were heading to New York for the break, but then she mentioned how Kurosawa has a cousin who performs in a jazz quartet out here.”

“Kazuto Nakazawa…” Ann said. She leaned back, lightly smacking Ren’s chest with her palm. “But I was texting you during the performance!”

“You texted me during the trumpet solo, actually.” Ren chuckled. “I wasn’t playing. And with the amount of texting we did in class, don’t you think I’d be pretty good at hiding my phone and typing by now?”

Ann frowned. “But I even _called_ you…”

“Ah. That.” Ren said. He looked at Ann gravely. “You know, you should be more careful about where you get your SIM cards from. Never know what kind of weird software someone might try to install on your phone.”

“...Are you _serious_?”

Ren grinned. “Gremlin, Ryuji, and Makoto helped with that one. I pre-recorded a few generic phrases and background noise. When you tried calling me, it routed to Futaba’s computer. The three of them pieced together a workable conversation. You probably would have noticed if you hadn’t been so worked up.”

Ann shook her head slowly, settling into Ren’s chest again. “And what about the performance? I’ve never heard you play so well before…”

“That… That was just blood, sweat, and tears.” Ren said. “I left for New York the same day you did. I’ve spent the last week holed up in Nakazawa-san’s place. I only left to get essentials and to organize the tram. Haru had some contacts who were able to help with that, and Yusuke helped pick the spot. As for the piano, Nakazawa-san had me practicing until he felt I could pass as a professional jazz pianist.” Ren laughed. “Well. A professional jazz pianist who was ‘drunk and having an off night’. His words.”

Ann giggled. “I thought you were good.” She blinked, leaning back one more time. “And what about Rei-chan?” She gasped. “You didn’t actually do something so insensitive as asking your _ex_ to help--”

“She was happy to, Songbird. And the last thing she wanted is for you to feel guilty. So she actually wanted to help, to show you that she’s fully behind this.”

The tram came to a stop in the middle of the line, at the midpoint between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan.

Ann looked up at Ren. This definitely wasn’t a normal date, a normal moment alone. Everything that had happened had built up to this single moment. As always, she could read her boyfriend like a book. She knew what he was about to say - what he was about to ask. But still, her heart raced. Her chest felt like it was going to burst. Knowing and hearing were very different things, after all.

“So... what _is_ this, Ren Amamiya?” Ann asked, softly. She smiled up at him. She stroked his cheek, taking in the features she loved so much. The long lashes that cast little shadows; the grey eyes that she found so expressive, such perfect windows into what he was thinking. What he was feeling. Right now, all she could see in them was love - just love.

Ren placed his hand over Ann’s, mirroring her soft smile. The anxiety was… ...It was amazing. Amazing, thrilling, paradoxical. When he was going to ask for Elias’ blessing, the words tumbled out of his head and into the ether, gone forever. When he was about to deliver his speech as the representative for the graduating class, the words were right in front of him, but his body wouldn’t move.

This time… His nerves were still there. His heart thudded away. His knees shook. But when she smiled at him - a smile he _thought_ he knew, but oh, it was so, so beautiful tonight - every fiber of his being pushed his words and body to action. Anxiety, courage, hope, faith… Every part of him was _for her_.

He took a step back, turning to look back at the lights of Manhattan.

“You know, Songbird. I was thinking it would be really nice to spend the rest of my life waking up beside you.” He said casually.

Ann felt her face grow hot; her eyes widened as elation spread through her, warming her. But she fought down the urge to throw her arms around him again; the urge to kiss, and hold, and never, ever let go. Instead, she gave him a coy smile, her hands clasped in front of her.

“Well… If I was a traditional Japanese girl, I might know what you meant. I think you might want to spell it out for your half-Japanese, quarter-Finnish, quarter-American girlfriend. After all, Wildcard… We’re in New York.”

Ren nodded. He thoughtfully stroked his chin as he turned back to her. “Then, I’d really like to grow old with you.”

Ann smiled at him, watching as he closed the distance to her again. “Oh? That’s nice. Still not sure what you mean, though.”

“Mm. Right. Then… Will you tell me the size of your left ring finger?” Ren said, his eyes sparkling. He kissed her. Slowly; softly. The shaking in his knees only worsened as Ann melted against him in that way she did. The way that reminded him of all their moments alone, both sweet and heated. He broke the kiss, stroking her cheek.

“Ah… ...Around a six.” Ann murmured, somewhat breathlessly. She cocked her head to the side innocently. “Whyever would you ask?”

Ren chuckled. “Well, I was thinking… Ann Amamiya sounds pretty good.”

He kissed her again, before holding her closer. His breath tickled her ear.

“Or…” He spoke softly. “Or if you want something really traditional, will you make miso soup for me every day?”

Ann giggled. She smacked his chest lightly at the incredibly old-fashioned line, held up as the pinnacle of Japanese indirectness.

Ren affected a concerned look. “Hm. Still no good, Songbird? Then… I’ll be really blunt.”

He let go of her. He got down on one knee, pulling a small box out of his breast pocket and opening it, revealing the rose-gold engagement ring. The solitaire sparkled even in the dim light of the city, filtering in through the windows of the tram.

“Ann Takamaki… I love you. I told you almost two years ago that the only future I want to see is one with you in it. I can’t go back… And I don’t want to. I want to see you as my bride, my wife, and as the mother to my children. Will you marry me?”

To Ren’s credit, his hands only shook a _little_. It was entirely irrational. After all, the odds were pretty good. But even so, the boxer’s mind, body, and spirit were going completely haywire. This was it. This was the moment where he would be undone and remade, no matter what her answer was. The moment he would remember forever.

She smiled at him. That beautiful, reckless smile, that made him want to scrape the very depths of his heart to give her everything of himself - even though he had already done that, time and time again. She held out her left hand to him. Her right was over her heart, as if she was trying to stop it from flying from her chest.

He slid the ring onto her finger. A perfect fit.

She took his hand, pulling him to his feet before taking a half-step back. His lively, radiant girlfriend - no, fiancée - gave him a shy, demure smile. Her hands folded in front of her, she bowed.

“Please take care of me from now on.”

Ren blinked. He blushed. With a little cough, he bowed in return, his hands at his sides. “I will make you happy--!!”

He was knocked back out of his bow as he caught Ann in his arms. She peppered his lips and face with kisses, laughing and crying.

“Yes, by the way! Yes, yes, yes!”

>>>

April 5, 2018 

“Well, this is it.” Ren unlocked the door to his new apartment in Nishiwaseda, a neighborhood in Shinjuku.

He held the door open for his fiancée - he grinned at _that_ thought - as she walked in. The place was surprisingly spacious, as far as Tokyo apartments went - a 1SLDK, with a large living/dining/kitchen area, bedroom, and a flex space big enough to serve as a walk-in closet or office. There wasn’t much set up yet - most of Ren’s possessions were still stacked in boxes.

“I haven’t really settled in yet.” Ren said, shrugging. “Between registration for classes and actually getting my stuff over here, I haven’t had the chance to assemble any furniture. Couch should be arriving tomorrow, though. And--...Songbird? What are you doing?”

Ann was peering into the bedroom. She startled, looking back at Ren. Her rosy cheeks betrayed her intentions.

“Er… ...Nothing.” Ann said. The mischievous glint in her eyes told Ren that she wanted him to pursue the truth in this particular matter. It wasn’t hard to guess. Ever since they had gotten engaged, they had both been a little _friskier_ than usual.

“Really? So my fiancée isn’t looking for a place to jump me?” Ren said, locking the door to the apartment.

Ann walked back over to him with lidded eyes, taking hold of his lapels as she kissed him. “I love it when you call me that…”

“I know.” Ren said. He returned the kiss, but pulled away to take something out of his pocket. “Hold that thought, Songbird. I have something for you.”

Ann blinked, looking at the key dangling from Ren’s fingers. It was already attached to a Chococat keychain. Her eyes lit up. “Oh! Of course. This will make it easier for me to visit--”

Ren shook his head. He placed the key in Ann’s hands, closing her fingers over it. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around at the mostly empty apartment. “Actually… This place is closer to our school than your parents’ place in Hiroo, isn’t it? It’s not as big, but since it’s only the two of us and occasionally Mona, I figured--”

“Hey, Ren?”

Ren looked back at Ann. She smiled, spreading her arms out.

“ _Okaerinasai._ ”

Ren grinned. He pulled Ann into a hug.

“ _Tadaima._ ”

>>>

**OMAKE** \- April 1, 2018 

Erika bit her lip, looking anxiously at her phone. She, Elias, and Reiko had remained at Birdland while waiting for a text from Ren and/or Ann.

“Staring at your phone won’t make the text come any faster, _kulta_.” Elias said. “Just relax.”

“Says the man who was crying ten minutes ago.” Erika replied. “Maybe I’ll just send Kei-chan a _teensy_ little text to find out if everything’s going well--”

“You could completely ruin the moment, Erika.” Elias sighed.

“Or I could completely save it! What if something happened?!”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know! What if one of them stepped into a different dimension, or gets involved with some masked vigilante!? We’re in New York!”

Elias sighed. “At least come up with something that actually has a chance of happening. Don’t text her. Just wait--”

Elias, Erika, and Reiko’s phones all simultaneously buzzed. It was a selfie of Ren and Ann on the tram, in each other’s arms; Ann was grinning broadly, showing off the sparkling new addition to her left ring finger.

Erika squealed; Elias dabbed at his eyes again.

“Ah… Shall we, then? Reiko-san, will you need a ride--...” Erika trailed off. Reiko was looking at her phone with a soft smile on her pretty face - but it was a smile through tears. Erika knew something of Reiko and Ren’s past. She reached over, gently touching the girl’s hand. Reiko looked up; Erika smiled gently. 

Reiko waved her hands. “S-sorry. I’m fine. Really, I am. I let go of him two years ago. I’m happy for them. I love Ann-chan, and I was honestly happy to help. I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

Erika didn’t respond. Instead, she stood up, pulling the girl into an embrace. She held her until Reiko settled down. With a last sniffle, she smiled.

“Let’s go, Erika-san, Elias-san. Congratulations.”

Reiko said goodbye to Elias and Erika outside Birdland. She took out her phone, searching for an Uber to take her back to her host family’s home.

“...Oh. You’re that girl who knows Amamiya, right? The one that was sitting beside his girl and her parents? How did things go?”

Reiko blinked. The man spoke Japanese; he must have been one of the members of the band. She turned around to face him. “Really well! They sent a text… message…”

She trailed off. He was tall. At least, taller than her. He held an instrument case in his left hand, and his right rubbed at the stubble on his cheek. He still wore his suit from the performance, with the collar popped and tie loose. His black hair matched his old-world vibe, in a stylish, classic side-part. His brown eyes widened as he got his first good look at Reiko.

“...message about what…?”

Reiko was the first to regain her senses. “Ren-kun and Ann-chan. Everything went well.” She showed him the picture.

“Oh. Oh! Good!” He coughed. “...So. Any plans?”

Reiko shook her head. “Not really. I just called an Uber.”

“...Ah. Too bad.” The musician smiled. “...Hey. I don’t suppose I could convince you to cancel the car?”

Reiko looked at him thoughtfully. “Well. If I cancel now, I’ll forfeit the fare. Are you worth 11 dollars, plus tip?”

He looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. How much do you normally tip?”

“Twenty percent.” Reiko replied.

“Generous!” He chuckled.

Reiko shrugged. The car pulled up. “It’s a bit late, anyway.”

The trumpet player frowned. He started to protest, but apparently thought better of it. Instead, he grinned, holding up his phone. “Can I text you tomorrow, then? By then, I’ll come up with a date that’s worth at _least_ eleven dollars. Plus tip.”

Reiko started to say no - until she remembered what she told Ann. “...Sure. I don’t give my number to strangers, though. What was your name?”

“Kazuto Nakazawa.”

“Ah! The leader of the quartet. Reiko Takahase. I’ll look forward to hearing what you have planned.”

Kazuto’s grin wavered. “...Wait. _Hearing_ what I have planned? You’re not going to go out with me?”

Reiko shrugged. She flashed a smile at him as she got in the Uber.

“Have a little faith, Nakazawa-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, yeah. The real Birdland isn't that close to the Roosevelt Island Tramway. But, whatevs. Magic of fanfiction.
> 
> Second of all... Wow. It's amazing (for me, anyway) how you can be stuck in a creative rut, not sure where you want to go with things, and then suddenly, bam. Three chapters and multiple major events tied up. I think this is why I admire the people who accept requests/commissions for stories and do good jobs of it. I can't do it. Even for the ideas I come up with/am invested in, sometimes there's just nothing.
> 
> The original draft/notes of this wasn't even close to as satisfying to write/read, and really illustrates the reason why I ended up doing the whole P5 re-write/creating the GtD AU. It's because I wanted _context_. I feel I write emotional events like proposals/etc better when there's history to call back on. Inside jokes; little things that were said to each other off the cuff that go on to become highly significant for the couple.
> 
> The proposal banter is similar to what I had imagined at the start - in fact, both in my notes and in GtD, I wrote the 'I'm not a traditional girl' conversation on the school rooftop after the festival with the idea that it would come up again whenever Ren ended up proposing to Ann. 
> 
> For those of you that read my other stuff, you might feel that this copies Cloudburst a bit - it's actually the other way around. Proto-GtD first, then Cloudburst was a bit of a test bed for it (not even the final form !! ).
> 
> Making the 'impossible' 'possible' - shout out to one of the most underrated romances of our time, Captain Murrue Ramius and Lieutenant Mu La Flaga in Gundam Seed. One of the best kisses ever.
> 
> More background info that didn't really fit into this, for those curious:
> 
> Kazuto - Lived in Japan, is around 2-4 years older than Ryoichi and Ren. Close friend of Ryoichi, actually the guy that got him into jazz to begin with. Moved to the US in pursuit of his craft.
> 
> A flight to New York!? Renting out the tram!? A big apartment?! How did Ren afford all of this?! - Crime. No, kidding. The 'Phantom Thief War Chest' as it's been called a few times, was divvied up among the thieves after the Metaverse ended. Ren took his share and with Haru's advice made some investments. Not enough to live in luxury, but enough to help with things. And don't forget Kenji/Inoue giving Ren the money he sent to them during his year of probation.
> 
> Is Birdland really that awesome? Yes. Absolutely. Go there if you can when it's safe again to do so.
> 
> Wasn't Reiko a lot more demure/shy/etc? - She's had two years in the US, and also went to the States with the mindset of finding herself/asserting herself. She was almost married off to someone against her will, and is determined to never let that sort of thing happen again.
> 
> Welp! That's it for a while for this AU in terms of big overarching projects! Like I said, have ideas for a plot driven boxing/Shuann focused story, but that needs a LOT of work before I even start writing. Will of course contribute where I can to various weeks.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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